Winter Haven
by The-Silver-Butterfly150
Summary: No place is safer than haven, to Jack Frost the North Pole was his haven, and no matter what happens North is the one person who will never abandon him. However Jack's trust is still as fragile as his ice and North still has a long way to go in solidifying it. *sequel to 'Old Scars Could Heal'*
1. Winter Havoc

**A sequel to 'Old Scars Could Heal' due to popular demand. But you don't really have to read it to understand this one, it's stand alone, you'll understand this one perfectly fine.**

**And this is a series of oneshots.**

**Summary for this chapter: Jack accidentally destroys half of the preparations for Christmas. North is taken over by range and says some horrible things. Once he realized what he has done and tries to apologize, it was too late, Jack has already left the place he called home.**

* * *

"Add more shape to roof," North enthused, towering over Jack who sat on the workbench sculpting a train out of a block of ice. "Like this?" Jack looked up at him, asking for his opinion. "Beautiful, now for wheels," the toymaker held Jack's wrist and guided him in the shaping of the wheel's structure, like a father teaching his son.

"Beautiful! You're natural!" North clapped his big hand on his back. "Well you helped, couldn't have done it myself," the hellion added.

North has taught Jack how to make one of his classic favorite toy trains out of ice.

Jack recently taken interest on sculpting prototype toy models ever since he started living at the pole, he visited North's work area every day, watching him make toys and all kinds figurines, not long after, he started sculpting himself, and North taught him every step of the way.

North was happy that someone had the same interest as him, he tried to invite the other guardians to sculpt with him but neither of them wanted to, Bunny said no immediately, Tooth made teeth out of ice and Sandy only dropped by his workshop for a nap.

North added a shelf by the window to hold a small collection of Jack's work. He never felt so much pride before, he stands as the fatherly figure of the mischievous child, and he was proud of him, no matter how much trouble he causes, he was proud to be his father.

The jolly man once imagined himself a few hundred years from now, doing the same thing he is doing right now. He hoped he would have a son, build a family and become a father. But as years came, he started to loose hope. But now he was reminded that nothing was impossible, and Jack was like the gift from Manny, and the best gift he could ever receive.

But he never told Jack about it, he couldn't imagine what the winter spirit might think if he found out that good old Santa Clause wants to be his father. He had to admit, he did not know how to have fun, he isn't good with children either, Jack had proven that in Bunny's Warren.

At least he had nothing to be concerned about. Jack was an immortal, like him, himself; he didn't have to worry about loosing him.

"Hey, hey North!" Jack broke his chain of thoughts, waving his wooden staff in front of him.

"Yes?" North diverted his attention from the floor to Jack standing in front of him.

"Maybe I should get going; I guess you got a lot of work to do," he stated hugging his staff.

"Oh! Almost forgot, today I have to check toys," the bearded man boomed and started to chuckle.

"Yeah, so I'll come back later," Jack slipped out the door.

Then the atmosphere fell silent again, North sat alone behind his desk. He sighed, he always felt empty when Jack isn't around. He pushed back his seat and slowly got up, it was time to see how the elves and yetis were doing.

Honestly when Jack said he would leave, he really didn't want to leave, but he didn't want to disturb North in his big preparation for Christmas.

Now he didn't know where else to go or what else to do for the rest of the day. Staying in his room was out of the question, he couldn't stand being cramped in a room all day, visiting the others wouldn't help, Bunny was most likely annoyed of him, Tooth was busy everyday, and Sandy was somewhere high up in the clouds.

He swung open the door of his room, he would just visit Jamie back in Burgess, maybe have a little snow ball fight, he hasn't seen the child in months.

Right now, he just laid back to take a short nap.

What was supposed to be a short nap turned into a deep sleep. The gentle whir of the wind that escaped the wide open windows awoke Jack

_He was supposed to visit Jamie._

He sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes groggily, he stretched his limbs, grabbing his staff, he pried open the door, with the old hinges immediately protesting.

The halls were relatively quiet, not even the pitter patter of elf's foot steps could be heard anywhere. North was most likely done in checking the Christmas toys, since he couldn't hear his booming voice around.

Judging by the color of the sky, he could tell it was already late, and Jamie probably had gone home from school, which s the right time to attack him with snowballs.

He made his way to the stairs and slid down the railing.

Even the man hall was quiet; Phil was the only yeti in sight, sitting in front of the fire place.

Jack's instincts were kicking in; he had this sudden urge to toss a snowball at his face before leaving.

Which he did

He will never get tired of the priceless expression the yeti always wore whenever he was hit by a ball of ice.

And then the chasse began, the whole Santoff Claussen was their field.

He was just going to throw a snowball at the yeti and run like he usually does everyday. Who knew Phil would chase him, perhaps the yeti wants to have fun as well.

With his adrenaline pumping up, Jack lost track of where he was going, the North Pole suddenly seemed like a new place for him, he took random turns with Phil hot on his trail. He spun around a pillar a couple of time trying to make the yeti dizzy, but still Phil remained chasing him. Jack was hovering in the air, giving him a big advantage as he whooped in circles gathering more gusts of wind from the open windows and into the pole, Phil was behind, he couldn't keep up with the wind blocking his path, still he kept on trying, he laughed with full mirth.

Laugh. It was the first time the hellion saw Phil laughing while chasing him, that yeti is more amusing than he thought it would be.

As they ran, Jack and Phil did not notice that they were partly destroying the North Pole.

Trays of toys of cracked toys scatter on the floor. Freshly painted robots were coated in Phil's fur. The strong wind knocked everything down, and trails of Frost were left everywhere.

Yet Phil and Jack were to busy playing to notice.

North heard the commotion going on outside, still he didn't bother to see what was going on. These days, Jack always caused all the ruckus around here, he was already used to it, he would even watch the teen play with the yetis.

It was until a distressed elf came pointing panicky at the door way. North instantly shot up, _what if Jack had gotten himself hurt_. That was all he cared, and did not expect to see anything else.

But what came to his surprise was everything he saw right in front of him. The elves here lined up in front of the fallen shelves of toys, some were sweeping the shattered glass away, everything was knocked down like dominoes and worst of all, there weren't any toys in one piece in plane sight.

Half of the preparations of Christmas were destroyed….

It took half a year to prepare and it was all gone….

And only one person could have done this much….

North felt his range bubbling inside him, he couldn't think straight anymore, "JACK!" he shouted loud enough for every being to hear.

Jack flinched once he heard North's voice echoed the pole. Phil finally stop chasing him, Jack got ready to bolt, that was the only time he got to see how much damage he's made, "What did I do?" he said in shock as he glanced around wildly. Everything, everything was destroyed.

He ended up face to face with North, "I'm sorry," he tried to apologize, "I was just….just," he trailed off staring at the ground.

Phil came to his defenses but North cut him off, "NO! Apology is not enough to cover this! Do you realize what you have done?"

"But-"

"You destroyed half a year of hard work! Preparation!" North continued, "to you, it iz nothing! All you ever think about is trouble!"

Jack's heart was caught in his throat; every word seemed like daggers stabbing him.

North kept going, "all you ever cause is trouble, you have no purpose"

_Stop it _North tried but anger has taken over him, "You are guardian, yet you never take anything seriously, I wonder why Manny even thought of choosing you!"

Jack felt tears prickle his eyes, North was right, why did Manny even choose him, why did he put him in such a cruel world.

North lashed open the doors and walked away. Jack was frozen; he couldn't believe how much trouble he had caused.

And he couldn't believe North, he never seen him so angry like that in his life before. But he did ruin everything, he ruined Christmas, he caused nothing but trouble.

Who was he to think that the guardians will ever accept him? He was just an addition, a refuge, all he did was mischief, pranks and trouble, he couldn't help at anything, he was useless, he wasn't supposed to be a guardian. He would never get a family, no matter how much he wanted one. He was destined to be alone.

The most painful part was that north said it all, the very man he trusted, the only one Jack thought would accept him as a son, but it was only his imagination, it was too good to be true.

Phil spoke in yetish, asking the hellion if he was okay. Jack finally let his tears fall, he ignored Phil's grunts and threw open the window, running as far away as the wind could carry him.

At least he still had the wind with him.

* * *

Jack was falling….

Tumbling through the sky like a feather…

The fall seemed endless, like he was plunging down an abyss, yet he still remained unmoving. He wanted to die, he didn't care any more, what else could he live for?

But the wind didn't want that, it quickly flung Jack to a tree just as he was inches away from the ground, breaking his fall, yet it still knocked all the air out of him once his back collided with the cold hard floor.

He was in the middle of a misty dark forest in Australia, far away from the North Pole yet he still felt like he needed to run away.

He gathered himself together and began to sprint.

He ran and ran, as if running could make all his problems go away. He terribly wished it could.

The bare branches of the trees loomed over him, which made him run faster.

The forest was no longer a safe place for him; it was no longer his home like it used to be. The North Pole had become his haven, but he was a burden to North, and he is nothing but destruction.

The thick mist blinded his vision, he didn't care, he just kept running. He suddenly felt the ground beneath him disappear, and he found himself falling again.

* * *

Worry welled up inside him. That was the only time North realized how terrible the words he said to Jack were. It wasn't plane anger, it was range, he couldn't think, he didn't even know what he was saying.

He desperately needed to apologize to Jack, he could feel concern in his belly, the only question is, will Jack ever forgive him?

The boy was like a son to him, he couldn't risk loosing him. North's expression enlightened and he wiped the beading sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He didn't care if Christmas would go on or not, he just wanted his son back.

Hurriedly, he threw open the doors and marched to the hallways.

The yetis were cleaning up, sweeping away the broken glass and lifting the fallen shelves upright. The elves were picking up all the undamaged toys, but Jack was not in sight.

North ran to Phil, who sat dazed in the middle of the room, "where is Jack?" he asked him worriedly.

Phil sadly pointed at the open window. Jack flew off again, just like Easter. North had no choice but to wait for him to come back, if he ever was coming back.

The yetis were in and out of the pole, they kept slamming and opening the doors, North would always check whether it was Jack or not. His worry had increased even more; Jack wasn't safe out there, even if he did spend 300 years of his life alone, he was over protective. What he was worrying about the most is that Jack may never come back to him anymore. He sent Phil to Burgess to look for the boy, but he came back empty handed.

North felt like ripping Santoff Claussen brick by brick, he already checked everywhere, Jacks room, the kitchen, Burgess, his lake, the South Pole. The world was a huge place, it was impossible for the search parties to cover up the whole land. Yet North didn't give up, he was determined to find Jack no matter how long it takes, he just hope it would be soon, he couldn't control his worry any longer.

* * *

After years of starring at blank sunsets with hope, asking the moon questions that could never be answered and thinking that everything could change, he was back to living his life alone again.

Tumbling down a long and dusty tunnel, Jack didn't know what could happen next, he didn't even bother to do anything or move a muscle, he just clutched his staff tightly to his chest and braced himself for impact.

Instead of hitting the ground, tumbled out of the tunnel and landed on a soft patch of damp green grass. His hair was matted with dirt, loosing its silvery white color. His hoodie had twigs spiking out of it. His eyes were tightly screwed shut with his staff clutched tightly to his chest.

He forced his eyes open, the sudden bright light stung his irises, his vision was clouded but he could tell he was surrounded by grass. It was the Warren; he could hear Bunny's gruff voice shouting his name. He scrambled to his feet; for sure Bunny already knew what happened in Santoff Claussen, the guardians are always in touched, they know each other's recent happenings, unlike him, the outsider. If North was capable of saying those words, Bunny could do worse.

"Oi, better not come here to mess with ma eggs mate!" Bunny hopped to him, his expression softened once he saw the fear in Jack's stale eyes.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted and backed away from the furry creature.

"Oi, what are ya talkin' about? What are ya supposed to be sorry for?" Bunny asked softly.

The boy was practically backed up against a tree, his chest heaving up and down unevenly.

"Oi what's wrong?" Bunny tried to land a hand on the hellion's shoulder only causing him to back away more.

"The-I…destroyed…the preparations for Christmas." He stammered still trying to scramble away.

"Hey, hey!" Bunny grasped him on both sides of his shoulder, "relax"

"I'm not a guardian; I make a mess out of everything."

Bunny was shocked, "has something gotten into ya little head, mate?"

"North….he…he was right." Jack's voice quivered.

"What are ya talkin' about ya drongo? And what's this about North…wait a minute, he said all those stuff?" Bunny's eyes were wide in shock as Jack nodded solemnly, "it's true" the last words broke into a whisper.

"What?" the Pooka snapped, gripping his boomerangs tightly. North, the only person who seemed to care deeply about Jack said some terrible things just because his set of toys were destroyed.

Then again, he was upset when Jack first ruined Easter, but that was before he became a guardian, and before he considered him as a frie…ally.

He wouldn't admit it, but that kid was growing on him.

"Look Frost, I…" he trailed off not knowing where to start, he didn't want it to be sappy, he knew Jack, he was gonna make fun of him for the rest of his life if he said something sappy.

"Frost, your center is fun, your meant to destroy things." He paused, Jack did not speak. Bunny realized it wasn't making him feel better at all. He inhaled deeply, "Jack" he called him by his name. "I know I haven't exactly been nice to you lately, and, as much as I hate to admit it but ya are important to us, and we're a family now, you'll always be a guardian. And everybody makes mistakes; I should have known that back on Blizzard 68. we ignored ya for so long, I didn't take time to realize that you just wanted attention from us."

Jack looked up at him, eyes gleaming, a smile forming on his lips.

"Look Jack, I'm sorry for not trustin' ya last Easter and making ya stay in the North Pole for the whole day, I should have thought twice about it. I just hope ya understand, we guardians are so sucked up with work that we tend ta forget." Bunny smiled, "That Family is the most important. The same thing happened to North."

"I understand," Jack murmured, "But, he was right, I am nothing but trouble."

"In a good way," Bunny added. "You brought us a lot of joy ever since you joined us, especially North, you don't know how happy he is with you livin' in Santoff Claussen, so you better get back."

"But what if he's still mad? I know he's still mad, I made the place havoc." Jack stared at the floor.

"Then I'll go have a chat with him, you stay here and clean yourself up, how does that sound?"

The winter spirit nodded beaming brightly, he knew that some day he was going to hear those words, he just didn't expect it would be coming from Bunny.

The Warren was bigger than he thought. Bunny led him to a small cottage, probably where he sleeps at night.

It was nothing much, entirely made of wood with a small chimney sitting on top of the moss covered roof.

But there were A LOT of carrots around; then again, this _was _Bunny we were talking about.

"Well, make yourself at home mate; I'm headin' to the Pole." Bunny raised a foot to open a hole.

"Uh Bunny wait!"

"What is it?" the pooka stuck his head out from the hole.

Jack was grinning mischievously, which was a good sign, "you do care"

Bunny cracked a smile and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah" then the hole disappeared.

Jack sighed, he managed to suppress a smile, but deep inside him, his heart felt like it was shattered in bits. He can't stand North mad at him, he was like his father, the one thing he truly desires after he got his memories back. He was the only guardian who had the most faith in him, he was the one who accepted him immediately, and he didn't want to change that.

His home was Burgess, but now whenever he requested the wind to take him 'home' it would always find himself in the North Pole. It was his haven, even the wind knew that.

North was his father, and the other guardians were his new family.

He thought back on what Bunny said, he needed to get back to the Pole for he didn't want North to be worrying. The man tended to fuss over him a lot.

Jack reached in his pocket and brought out his wooden doll, clutching it tightly in his palms, "wind take me _home_."

* * *

Not long, Bunny's tunnel finally reached it's end. He poked his ears out first and heard North's booming voice commanding the yetis, probably to fix the toy wreckage. Bunny pulled himself out and the tunnel disappeared. He walked closer to discover that North was actually sending the yetis away to other countries as a search party for Jack.

"Oi mate," Bunny tapped him in the shoulder.

"WHAT IZ IT!" North snapped, whipping around, "oh Bunny! It's you! Where iz Jack!? Iz he here? Have you seen him?" he man grabbed him by the shoulders and proceeded to throw questions at him while shaking the poor dizzy Bunny.

"STOP!" Bunny yelled hopped a few feet away from North, "he's in my warren."

North gave a big sigh of relief, "oh, I thought he was hurt! I could have had a heart attack."

"He's been alone for years, he can take care of himself mate."

"Iz he here? I have a big apology for him; I shouldn't have said those horrible things." North stared at the ground.

"Yeah, he knows that, you didn't mean it, but he's afraid of you mate." Bunny said ruely

"Has he told you when he's coming back?"

"I don't-" Bunny was cut off b y the lashing open of the windows and Jack landing in the room.

"Jack!" North cried out with pure joy. Jack warily drew closer.

"Please stop storming off all the time; you nearly gave me a heart attack!" North was easily able to pick the boy up into an embrace. "Please forgive me; I did not know what I was saying."

"Yeah, it's okay," Jack thought his ribcage was about to give away as he tried to squirm away from North's bear hug. "North..." he choked out, "I can't breath."

The Russian man set him down immediately and looked him in the eye, "will you ever forgive me? I was angry, and I did not know what I was saying, and I don't know why I said those, but whatever is reason, I did not mean any of it."

"Um...I already did, this is my home now." Jack rubbed is neck and smiled.

North returned the smile, patting him on the back, "Whatever happens, this is your home, forever."

Bunny silently watched the two with mirth. It's amazing how they are able to switch moods so quickly.

And when Ombric the wizard finally came to visit his old student after 300 years of not seeing him, this is how North introduced Jack:

"Ombric, this is my son, Jack Frost." He said it proudly and with pure pride.

That left Ombric with a ton of questions.

* * *

**What? Too sappy? XD**

**This was published recently, but I accidentally deleted it while I was deleting my other stories XD I confused the titles, so here it is again!**

**Ombric is a book character in case you don't know. And if I'm not mistaken, he is North's mentor when he was young.**

**So that is the end for this chapter, any special request like before? I haven't completed this story yet, cause I still have few ideas up in mind.**

**Leave a review, I would love to hear about what YOU guys think. And feel free to request :D and tell me if it was too sappy while your at it.**


	2. Sprain

**Well, the title says it all: Jack sprain his wrist, North starts to fuss :D**

"Best day ever!" Jack shouted along the way. It was winter once again; he could run around freely without annoying the hell out of any other seasonal spirits. He could practically do whatever he wanted, freeze fountains, freeze water parks, the beach, pave sidewalks with ice causing adults to slip and fall, or maybe he would even create a snowstorm, so children wouldn't have to go to boring school.

_Maybe next time,_ school was important for children or at least that is what North says. Jack thinks of school as kill joy, restraining children from their fun with all the rules and regulations, especially those freaky teachers who can not take jokes.

Aside from having his unlimited fun, it was also his first winter with the guardians. It was the first time he could go 'home' after a days work and it was the first time he had a 'family' to turn to.

Children finally see him, thanks to Jamie for spreading his experiences with his friends, and the stories just kept spreading everywhere like growing tree branches. Children would stare at the sudden trails of frost racing across the side walk with wonder, but majority would look up at him, screaming his name and pointing at him before grabbing their parents or an adult.

Of course the adults would see them pointing at blank air. And Jack, he would run; dart away as fast as he can to avoid the parents thinking their kids have gone mad.

Which is exactly what he should do because he just perched himself of a tree next to a window of middle school children who were already staring at him with owlish eyes.

Jack immediately flew away. Being invisible was horrible.

Being visible was hard to; he can't go five steps without being seen by a child. He began to wonder how North, Bunny, Sandy and Tooth hide themselves so well.

Then again, they weren't running around the world sprinkling ice cubes everywhere. They only come at night, where most children are asleep.

Still Jack had his fun, he couldn't throw snowballs at children anymore, now he's grown fond of tossing snowballs at adults going to work, especially those with fancy suits and briefcases.

They would always stare at the sky wondering where that came from, others will ask the children who would answer 'Jack Frost did' leaving them bewildered and Jack would always run off laughing.

The winter spirit whooped, letting the wind push him as high up in the air as possible, laughing heartily.

It was what he always did whenever he felt lonely, left alone without anyone to care for him; he hid it behind fun and mischief. The smiles he wore were always fake, it was just an excuse to hide his sorrow and depression.

Not in this case, this time, he was truly having the time of his life; he smiles for real, filled with laughter.

The wind momentarily stopped blowing and Jack let himself freefall head first, 70 feet above the air. Just as he was about to hit the ground, the wind plucked him to the sky.

And he did it again, doing aerial somersaults laughing endlessly, the feeling that he never wanted to go away.

The strong force of the wind sent him speeding across the sky like a bullet train right above the forest where he did the loop-de-loops, which was the most delightful part of the sleigh ride.

But he didn't notice a flock of pigeons that were counter-flowing. The flock zoomed past him, knocking his staff out of his grasp. It tumbled down the forest and got caught by on a tree branch.

Jack lost control of the breeze, causing the string of wind to scatter everywhere. He fell out of the sky, down to the forest of Burgess. He hit a few tree branches on the way down, fortunately breaking his fall. The dead twigs that were on the ground snapped at the pressure. Slowly Jack sat up, his hand landing on his throbbing head. "Okay, ouch" he shifted slightly and felt sharp pain on his other wrist. "This can't be good," he twisted it a couple of times and felt even more amount of pain. He squeezed his bone with his other good hand, letting out a sigh of relief. It wasn't broken, just twisted.

He shakily got on his feet, using the nearby tree for support. Once he got his staff untangled from the branches, he sat on a rock, wondering what he should do about his wrist. "This can't be good" he repeated, rubbing the dirt off his air.

He recalled a lot of times he got hurt in such a way. When he first tried to gain control of the wind, it always happened the same way, he would fall out of the sky, crash into things, sometimes even land splat on the concrete floor. He got a lot of bruises and cuts every time. But he couldn't turn to anyone for help, no one could see him, no one could hear him, he was always left to take care of himself.

"Hey wind!" Jack called. The wind blew his hair gently, caressing him as a form of an apology. Jack smiled, "take me home." He was never mad at the wind; it had become his only companion in his 300 years of living. Surely every body made mistakes, the wind dropped him a few times but it will never hurt Jack purposely.

The wind hoisted him up gently, like a mother picking up her child and blew him high up in the air again on the way to the North Pole.

Jack clutched his wrist tightly hoping that the pain would go away as he did. He never dealt with sprays before; he didn't know how it works. _What would North say about this?_

Jack thought, but shook it away; North was probably too busy to even see him enter the pole. It was almost Christmas, and since half of the preparations were ruined, they were all working twice the effort to restore it.

The feeling of guilt came back, North had to work endlessly for his stupid mistakes, although he helped a lot and North forgave him, he still felt bad.

Jack gently swung open the window, landing gracefully on the boarded ground of the globe room. He could hear the faint sound of North's booming voice right around the corner and the plodding of footsteps on the wooden hallway.

His eyes widened, "oh no" he has his staff right in between his arms while his hand still clutched his twisted wrist that has already developed a bruise and began to swell.

Jack walked in a brisk pace in attempt to run in his room unnoticed.

His intentions were stopped, he faltered and stumbled right into North who was about to enter the globe room.

The Russian man grabbed his arms and helped him regain his balance. "Ah Jack, you are back, and what have you been up to today?"

"Uh, you know, bringing winter to the world, like yesterday and uh." Jack stammered. "But I have to go now, I am very tired." He rigidly walked past him.

North noticed the strange purple mark around Jack's covered wrist. "Wait," he stopped him, putting a heavy hand on the sprite's shoulder. "What is wrong with your hand?"

"Noting," Jack said quickly trying to squirm away from his grasp. But North's grip was firm, "no, let me see." He reached for Jack's arm; carefully unwrapping his fingers around his wrist, Jack tried to recoil, only to cause more pain.

North quickly reacted, caressing the bruised surface with his large hands. "What happened?"

"I-I fell into the forest and tumbled down a few trees." Jack admitted.

"Aye," North shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
"Your busy, I didn't want to bother you."

"I am not that busy, this is serious Jack, you have to tell me. Now quickly come with me." North placed a hand on his back and led him to his room.

"But I can take care of myself," Jack protested. "Go back to work."

"The yetis can manage," North insisted, shutting the bedroom door behind him. "Now sit"

Jack collapsed on his bed, "its normal for me to get bruises, Christmas is more important, I'm already enough of a distraction."

"Ah, but you are important to me." North turned, giving him a warm smile and sat next to him. "But what were you thinking? Pulling a stunt like that."

"I just lost control of the wind, then I fell." Jack explained.

North pulled out some kind of ointment out of his coat, yanking it open and applying a few drops onto his wrist, which burned.

Then North proceeded to massage it. Jack's eyes were screwed shut, hissing in pain.

North wrapped a bandage tightly around, "The pain will go away soon." he reassured. "Now lay down you need rest." he took a small pillow, tucking it under Jack's hand to keep it elevated, preventing the ripped ligament from swelling even more.

He's been around for 318 years, he has never experienced this kind of care and attention North was giving him. He had a lot of wounds, some even turned to scars. He healed them himself. He revoked the first time he received a cut from a sharp tree branch. He was still new to the world he knew nothing about. He was scared, he didn't know what to do, drops of red kept seeping out of his flesh and he didn't even know what it is. He was panicking, he was in great pain, he even trid to ask the moon whadork do but as always it did not answer him. It was when he developed a natural instinct to take care of himself.

"But I'm fine." Jack stated "I need to go deliver snow day to the children."

North sighed on how stubborn the young sprite was. He remained there, seated by his side.

"You should go back, I'm fine now." though he was begginging to feel fatigue.

"No, you are hurt."

"But I get hurt all the time, it's normal."

North's eyes widened upon realizing something. "But who do you go to? Whom do you ask help from?"

The teen's gaze dropped, "I...I do it myself."

_I do it myself _the words rumbled in his head. It made his heart shatter in a million pieces. Jack Frost has been left alone for years, to no body to care for him, nobody to turn to whenever he has problems, left alone to treat his own wounds.

He could treat his wrist, but he will never be able to heal the thorns in his heart.

"I shouldn't have been there." North's eyes were filled with regret and sorrow.

"You didn't know."

"But I do know what it is like." North looked at the teen in the eyes. "I know, I didn't have anyone to be proud of me, I didn't have any parents, and I was an outcast." He paused and placed his hand on Jack's shoulder, steering him into his arms. "I am so sorry Jack."

The winter spirit leaned into his embrace, allowing the warmth to envelope him. He shut his eyes, he never liked the heat, but this one, it made him feel all warm inside, particularly his heart.

He's never been hugged like this, not once in his life, only North was able to give him the feeling of warmth and trust. It feels like they've known each other for so long, it lifted the heavy sorrows of solitude. There were tears prickling in the corner of his eyes, he gripped onto North's coat, ignoring how painful his wrist was. "Thanks North" he said softly.

"Allow us to make it up to you, me and the guardians. Open up to us." It was a small request, but Jack found it hard to follow.

"But…" tried to protest, but North interjected.

"We haven't exactly been the most approachable people back then, but we focus too much on work that we haven't had time to notice you. But the past is the past, I want you to forget about it and focus on what is ahead of you."

It was hard to forget about the past, but North was partly taking away the pain. He smiled looking at North's sapphire eyes identical to his, "I already forgot about it."

North gave him another warm smile, one that told him that he will never abandon him and will always be on his side no matter what ever happens in the upcoming years.

He was looking forward to the upcoming Christmas, because now he had North and the other guardians to celebrate it with. He was no longer alone, wandering the streets all by himself while the other children and spirits were enjoying in the place they belong.

Now he belonged in the North Pole.

"Your not one of them"

"They will never accept you"

It was Pitch and his words that have been buzzing around in his head for weeks! That always made him question their trust.

But the past was the past and he was ready to forget it.

He spent the rest of the day in his room. North even forced Phil to guard the door and make sure he never left his bed. He fussed a lot, Jack sprain his wrist, not his leg, yet North still refuses to let him stand.

But no matter, North was like an over-protective father to him.

It was nice to know there are some people here to care for him.

He didn't have to be afraid anymore...

He was no longer alone...

He just wished this injury would turn into a scar, that stays on him forever just to remind him the first time someone had taken care of him.

* * *

**So? How was this? It's kinda hectic though, I am in a little bit of a rush.**

**Thanks for all the reviews :D **

**And now I'll answer back to them (although I normally use PMs but i'll try something different for once)**

**GreatWolfSpirit- Yeah, I don't see a lot of stories with book characters either, that is why I am planning to add some more! *crazy grin* lol**

**Fireena- I know right, family stories are always the most touching ones.**

**RedHal & ABookWormForLife- so glad you didn't think it was too sappy! And I too think North should have a little chat wi Ombric too, though I am working on at...**

**LillithDemon- haha the part with Ombric tuned out funnier than I thought it would be XD Thanks for the compliments**

**WRATH77- North teaches Jack how to sword fight? That is brilliant! **


	3. Lessons From A Father

**Requested by WRATH77**

**Summary: North teaches Jack to use a sword! Isn't that exciting? Lol**

**Also check out 'Hand Me Downs' by ****AquaWolfGirl**** with the same prompt as this.**

* * *

Jack was such a light sleeper, he wakes up every time he hears noise drawing near him. North visits his room every night before he went to bed himself. He didn't know why, but he's seen a lot of parents to do it with their child, tucking them back in whenever they kicked off their covers, comforting them when they had nightmares, rocking them to sleep when they have trouble falling into an easy slumber. Jack wasn't a child, he has been independent, on his own for 318 years, but it just felt right if he did it with Jack as well. The problem is, Jack jolts awake every time he hears the door creak open. He has developed a protective sixth sense over the years of being alone, sleeping in the forest where wild animals could attack anytime, who could blame him, he's never used to having a home. It was good, at least he could sense when an enemy is close, but North didn't want that when he was sleeping inside his room. Jack isn't even sleeping, he always kept his guard on, North just wanted him to feel protected and trust him.

Yes he does trust him, but not with his whole life. North wouldn't let anyone, under any circumstances; lay a finger on Jack unless he was still around. He wanted Jack to know that too. Sandy came to the Pole once in a while when he has excess time that is the only moment Jack would have a continuous sleep.

North requested the yetis to oil the rusty old hinges of the door to avoid disrupting the winter spirit when he entered his room. To his relief, it was actually working, the door did not protest when he opened it and Jack did not stir, but the floor boards did squeak from the pressure of his wait.

Jack sprang up alarmed eventually he relaxed when he saw it was just North, "Um…sorry North, it's just that I get riled up when I hear noise while I am asleep." He said that every time he wakes to find North standing on his doorway. 'That is what we need to talk about my boy," North sat in the vacant space of his bed. Jack moved over to give him a little more space. "Yeah?" he said to signify that he was listening.

"Have you been having a good sleep?" North asked, "Any nightmares that keep you awake?"

Jack shook his head, "No, not really, it's sort of a natural instinct for me to wake up when I hear noise I guess." North look at him a little mad, which made Jack wonder what he had said. "You're at the pole, no need to be scared." His voice came out gentle and comforting, placing a hand on his shoulder, slightly squeezing the shoulder-blade. The teen shrugged in nonchalance, "I guess it's natural, I don't have control over it." He absent-mindedly swung his feet back and forth on the edge of his bed. North didn't say anything anymore; he just stared at the door way dazed. After what seemed like minutes, he finally spoke, "tell me"

There are a lot of things to tell, Jack knew what North was talking about. He has asked the same thing for the whole week now, Jack would always reason his way out of it. Wasn't because he didn't trust North, it was because it's painful to think about it.

Jack shifted uncomfortably, unsure if he should go all emotional on North again. Come to think of it, the jolly man provided him the greatest comfort; it wouldn't hurt if he just let out all his thoughts instead of keeping it all to himself.

He opened his mouth to speak but shut it again, uncertain of how to start. "I…the night I was risen from the pond, after I learned how I can use the wind. I saw a small village, what used to be the old Burgess so I flew there. I was greeting the people who passed by me, but then I wondered why none of them could see me, until this kid just past right though me." He huffed gathering the courage to continue, "I just ran as far away from that small village as possible. I didn't know who I was, or even what I am. I thought I was a ghost. I didn't know anything; I just kept running until I reached the forest, where I stayed for the rest of the days. At first I was thrilled to find out that animals could see me, but it just got worse. A pack of wolves saw me as food and began chasing me." He huffed and did not want to resume anymore. "I guess I just never kept my guard down after that night."

Hearing this made North's heart ache, he really should have been there for the boy, they should have paid more attention to him instead of their work.

"Jack," the hand that was still on his shoulder gripped him tighter. "You are safe here; you are no longer in the forest where there are wild animals around. You are at the pole, I am here for you, the yetis are here, and I will never let anyone hurt you, okay?"

The winter spirit hesitantly nodded. He was a 318 year old winter spirit, but deep down inside, North saw a frightened little boy, all alone. North vowed that Jack would never deal with all the painful burdens by himself any longer. That was all he needed to know for now, he would ask for more if Jack was ready to tell him more.

After that night, Jack slept soundly and continuously without waking up until the morning came. Surely his eyelids would open by themselves from the instincts but he just forced them shut. North was the only one who came to his room anyway, and he trusted the toymaker like no one else.

/

Jack woke up one day without feeling the presence of his wooden staff. He kept it propped against the wall beside him every night, but strangely it wasn't there anymore.

Jack sat up and began looking around the room in search for it, checking under his bed, the window sill, the nightshade, but it wasn't there. He began to feel sick, his stomach suddenly twisted with dread, his staff was lost, the very source of his power was somewhere in the pole if not, probably somewhere around the world. He hoped he didn't loose drop it in some country, it would be impossible to find if he did, there are a million sticks in this world. It was also impossible for him to drop it in another continent, he always kept the staff with him whenever he landed or settled on a tree for a moment. It must be in the pole, he had a strong feeling about it, or at least he hoped it was.

He opened the door with shaking hands, trying not to make any noise as he glided out the paneled hallway.

Where will he start? Santoff Claussen is a big place. He didn't bother to tell North about his missing weapon, not wanting to disturb him in his work. Early in the morning, the yetis were already working on toys, carving figurines out of wood, building toy trucks and many more. Jack remembered when Phil borrowed his staff to pull a loose bolt back in place once, maybe he borrowed it again.

He asked Phil, all the yeti did was shrug, saying something in yetish that he couldn't understand. He sighed, requesting Phil to pry open every machine to see if his staff was jammed in the parts. After going trough a dozen hundred of those machines, Jack gave up.

He began open the crate of toys that were stacked up on one another to check if his staff had been confused with one of the toys inside, but no. it's just full of ordinary plastic toys, no sign of his wooden weapon anywhere.

The winter spirit sat by the window of the globe room trying to retrace his steps, he remembered clearly he placed his staff beside him before he turned out the lights and drifted to sleep, but why wasn't it there any more?

Sleep walking was unlikely to happen, you don't pick something up when you're asleep and drop it someplace else.

Maybe he did drop it somewhere in the world after all. The first thing that entered his mind was Jamie's house, he visited the last night and Sophie was playing with his staff, but it was still unlikely for him to leave without his staff, the heck, he used it to summon the wind, 'how' could he leave without it.

He cracked open the window and warily stood on the edge where the violent wind was thrashing. Taking a deep breath and praying that the wind recognized him, even without his staff. He never tried to fly without his staff before; this would be the first time he did, like some kind of test drive. He swung a foot in mid air, swallowing hard before letting himself drop. He was plummeting ten feet down the North Pole and close to the ground, luckily the wind pulled him up in time before his head had the chance to bash on the cold hard ground.

He let out a howl of joy, "Thanks a lot wind, now take me to Burgess!"

With brute power, another strip of wind came, encircling him before propelling him away.

He felt a little odd without his staff. It was became a part of him ever since he was risen from the lake. He held it when he needed comfort, and it was the only object that kept him feeling safe. Now it was missing due to his carelessness,

He arrived in Burgess in no time, Jack landing roughly on Jamie's back yard. He pulled himself up, dusting the dirt off his hoodie. He tapped the window, lightly frosting in. Jamie immediately diverted his attention away from the book he was reading, "Jack!" he yelled springing out of his bed to greet the winter spirit. "Wait don't you normally come at night?" he joked waiting for the winter spirit to react.

"Yeah, I do but now I seem to be loosing by staff." Jack replied in haste, "Did I leave it here?"

"No, don't think so," Jamie ducked under his bed. "Maybe, but I haven't seen it." He began fumbling his box of toys while Jack checked his closet.

They checked almost every inch of the room, but still there was no staff, Jack even went to check Sophie's room.

"Oh no, I must have left in Toronto, or in New York or in Rome." Jack began enumerating the places he's visited the other day.

"But isn't that staff really important?" Jamie's voice rang his head.

"Yes, it's really important, that's why I really need to find it." The teen replied with a frustrated tone.

"Well how did you loose it?" Jamie asked. Jack shrugged, "I don't know, I just woke up today and it wasn't there."

"Well, can't you sense where it is? I mean you guys have super powers right, maybe you can see where it is through telepathy, or maybe you will have a vision!" the boy said.

"You watch too much TV kiddo." Jack stated, amused by the boy's enthusiasm.

Jamie rubbed his temples "hehehe"

"But I have to go look for it," Jack stepped on the window sill, "see you tonight."

Jamie waved a good-bye, "I hope you find it!"

_I hope _Jack let out a long sigh; maybe North could help him after all, if he isn't busy that is.

He went back to the pole to find North sitting in front of the fire-place with his feet propped up on a stool. Jack sully approached him, "hey North?"

"Jack!" the jolly man greeted getting off his chair, "what iz wrong?" he asked when he saw Jack's sullen expression.

"I lost my staff North, I can't remember where I put it, I don't even know if I can find it anymore." Jack explained glaring at the ground.

"What?" North roared, "You misplace staff?" but he had this grin plastered on his face.

"Yeah."

"But how?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "I just woke up and it was gone…I checked everywhere."

"No staff means no weapon of protection, I won't let that happen!" North suddenly snapped taking Jack by surprise. He wrapped an arm around the sprite's shoulder, "how bout I teach you one of my tactics in sword fighting!"

"What? I don't think…but you're busy and I need to find my staff." Jack stammered, taken a back by the offer.

"Yes! You need to go find your staff, but you never know what might be lingering out there. Besides, I have lots of swords." North said.

"Well," Jack shifted his foot, he does have a point. "But I need to find my staff."

"We find it later, you will need some protection, you never know what might be lingering in the forest."

It was the first time Jack was going around without his staff, "yeah, I guess your right."

"Good then let's go!" North didn't wait for a reply; he steered the winter spirit to one on the rooms beside his office that Jack hadn't noticed at all.

"This iz something that I've always wanted to do," North said while unlocking the door with the keys in his coat. A smile tugged his lips as Jack watched North's eagerness and anticipation, unlocking the door and throwing it open at once.

He motioned Jack to enter first. The room was as large as the lobby, enough to fill a crowd and throw a concert. There were foam dummies aligned in a straight line at the center of the space. Swords of all kind sat on hinges that were attached to the wall.

Jack was star struck, "North, when you said a lot of swords, I didn't know it was this much." He cracked into chuckles as he stared at the blades that covered up the whole wall.

"Well, swordsmanship is my pastime." North gestured at the blades, "Pick one or two if you want."

Jack didn't know where to start; the blades seemed to be so heavy, light as a feather for North though. Nothing seemed to be as light as his staff and nothing seemed to be light enough for his tooth pick arms to carry.

His eyes landed on the plain silver blade, it seems light enough, but he was wrong.

He placed his hand on the hilt, slowly lifting it in the air but instantly dropping it. The heavy metal hit the floor with a loud clatter. "Do you have anything….less…metal?"

"Hm…" North stroked his beard. Jack was too small to hold a blade upright; he needed something more feather like. He scanned the wall for anything more suitable for the winter spirit and he found a golden saber sitting right in the center. He took it, removing the blade from his sheath and handing it to Jack, "This iz perfect."

Jack held it's hilt, expecting it to drop on the floor like before. North let go, the sword's full weight was in his hands, surprisingly it didn't drop. It was very light, light as a feather, as light as his staff.

"What do you think?" North asked excitedly.

Jack smiled, "It's pretty light." He balanced it on his palms watching the light reflect on its golden surface.

"Now try slicing one of the dolls." North watched with pride as Jack strode over to one of the headless manikins holding his blade in an awkward angle.

He walked over to the teen, adjusting the sword in his arms to a straighter position. "Now swing." He commanded and Jack immediately flung the blade at the dummy only to miss by a few inches.

"Again," he held his cold wrists, guiding him to keep a straight aim. The thin blade sliced through the doll easily causing some of the foam to pour out.

North began to laugh loudly, the sound rebounding off the walls and echoing throughout the room, "good job my boy! Good job!"

Jack laughed with him as well, having a lot of fun, he never knew holding a sword would make him so happy.

"Now try by yourself," North instructed.

The immortal teen hesitantly held up the blade with shaking hands before ripping the other half of the manikin into shred, repeatedly slashing the blade over and over again.

"Great!" North said in pure happiness "you got the hang of it my boy!"

Jack smiled even brighter, it wasn't the sword making him happy, it was the time he was spending with North that filled him with joy.

North taught him different tactics and skills that he himself has learned. He felt pure mirth, passing down his skills to the young winter spirit. He thought back on his bandit days, when he was still young, he wondered if he will ever have a family, to have a child that he could train. His wishes came true, he is passing down his skills to the one person he loved like a son.

The sun was close to setting and North called it a day. Jack instantaneously wanted to go look for his staff.

North called him back, claiming that he knew where his staff was. Leading the teen to his office, he handed Jack the wooden stick that has been missing all day.

Jack's eyes widened, "you had my staff all along? And I went all around the world to go look for it. But why?" there wasn't a hint of anger in his voice, instead he was smiling.

"Bah, I figured it was the only way I could get you to hold a blade." North was a little ashamed.

Of course, North was the only one who is entering his room; he must have snuck it away while he was asleep. "Well, why didn't you just tell me?"

North shook his head, "I do not know, I just thought you might say no."

"Well, I would enjoy spending a little time with you, it was a fun day."

"Yes consider this day as some kind of bonding time, and a taste of your own medicine." North yipped and danced around in a Russian jig.

Jack Frost wasn't amused, he just stood leaning on his staff with a bored expression. "Don't be surprised if your snow globe goes missing, okay?" with that Jack walked out of the door.

North suddenly had this urge to check his coat, fumbling through the pocket where he kept his snow globe and found it was missing, "Jack you sneaky little trickster."

From that day, Jack Frost was always seen with a golden saber hanging from his waist.

* * *

**What I mean by "A taste of your own medicine" was about Jack running around pulling pranks and today North just pulled a prank on his. I was thinking about writing a chapter about Jack and his tricks, but what do you guys think? **

**Feel free to type up your request if you do have any.**


	4. Trip To Big Root

**A continuation of chapter 1, inspired by the reviews of ABookWormForLife and RedHal about Ombric meeting Jack, originally I only have 5 chapters plotted, but thanks to you guys it just got 10 times longer!**

* * *

"This is my son, Jack Frost." North introduced, his arm wrapping around the winter spirit's shoulder.

Ombric was left bewildered, "What? When did this? How?" the wizard let out a heavy sigh, "well, come to think of it, I haven't seen you for 200 years."

Jack seemed amused by the old man's expression, "metaphorically speaking." He stated leaning on his staff with a lopsided grin.

"Yes, metaphorically speaking," North sad reality hit harshly, Jack wasn't really his son, they weren't blood related and he can never be his true father no matter how much he dreamed to be, it's just a dream, it can never be real, but what was important was Jack wanted him to be his father, and he wanted the winter spirit to be his son. He snapped away from his thoughts, "you see this is Jack Frost, the newest guardian."

"Oh I know who he is; I was just wondering how he became your son." Ombric burst into a fit amount of laugher before circling around the white-haired teen.

Jack too had questions of his own, staring at the wizard with curious eyes, cocking his head at his compelling features.

"This is Ombric Shalazar, the last of the wizards from Atlantis." North finally said after a long moment of silence.

"Atlantis? You mean that sunken place?" Jack asked.

"Yes, I was the only one to make it out there alive." The wizard said.

"And you're a wizard?" he's never really sure what a wizard actually is, he's heard it from kid's bed time stories and TV shows the children watched, but he has never seen one before.

"Yes I am." Ombric simply replied running a finger through his long beard.

"What do wizards do?" he whispered to North, who gave him a chuckle and answered, "Magic."

Jack raised his brow in doubt, "isn't there a scientific explanation for magic?" he learned from the dozen piles of text books he scanned trough when he was helping Jamie with his homework. But Jamie didn't believe in science anymore, he explained about how he isn't supposed to exist because of his sub-zero body temperature, or about bunnies aren't supposed to grow more than 2 feet and how North isn't supposed to be able to run fast jump high or even have the strength to lift two heavy battle sods at his age. Maybe the guardians do have a little magic in them.

"I work with both science and magic." Ombric said.

"How exactly does this magic work anyway?" the youth eventually found himself with a lot of questions whirling around his mind.

"Spells, books and a lot more my lad," the wizard explained.

"Well, I'm not feeling the proper introduction, so…I'm Jack, and I freeze things." The mischief jived playfully and began floating in the air, making North boom with laughter.

"Why don't you come back to Big Root with me North, I am sure you miss that place." Ombric suggested.

"Or course I do miss that place dearly!" the toymaker said glancing over to Jack who has taken interest in freezing a yeti's feet to the ground. "We can take Jack as well."

"I see that look in your eyes," the wizard stood in front of North, driving his gaze away from the winter spirit. "You really love the boy like your own do you?"

"I've always wanted a child like him," North murmured. "From the first time he became a guardian, I knew he would be great."

"Looks like you have found your new source of joy," the wise wizard watched North's features slump as he thought of the first child he has grown close to.

_Kathrine_

"I know she is hard to forget, I too am having a hard time forgetting." He knew how difficult it was, especially for a person like North.

"But Jack is immortal," North interrupted, "and I will never let anything happen to him." that was a vow; if anyone did harm Jack he would shred them apart.

"Let us go to Big Root," the wizard eyed North before nodding "let's go"

"Don't you want to see the whole pole?" the toymaker spoke up, and Ombric, who was at the door turned around, "I've seen all of your brilliant inventions my student, the yetis took me on a tour before I encountered you." The wizard turned, heading for the doorway, "come on, let's get going."

"Brilliant," he repeated to himself, smiling before calling for Jack.

The winter spirit turned to see North and Ombric by the door way, "hey where are you guys going?"

"You'll see," he motioned Jack over to his side, "come with us, I have a lot of things to show you."

Jack trailed after him, with a curious and suspicious expression, "but where?"

"You will see," North snickered.

"Aw come on North, I don't like suspense." Jack whined only to amuse old Santa Clause even more. "It's a surprise, to the sleigh!" he exclaimed, charging towards the big heavy metal doors that opened automatically in his presence.

A herd of reindeer appeared out of the darkness of the hollow room, pulling out a huge vehicle that was the sleigh. "Do you like it?" North inquired.

His former mentor approved, "excellent design, it seems to have perfect balance too." He tapped its deck with his wooden staff, "marvelous job my former student."

"Former student?" Jack repeated quizzically, he sure had a lot of things to catch up to.

"I will tell you on the way," North assured, "I have a lot of stories for you today." They all climbed on the sleigh, Jack standing on his usual post on the wing.

North was as reckless as ever, even with Ombric riding in the sleigh, he still maintained his frightening speed. Oh if only Bunny was here, Jack thought as the skates of the sleigh detached from the ground and in to the sky.

Once they were high up in the air, the sleigh broke into moderate speed, lightly swaying side to side.

"We are going to big root," North finally revealed without taking his eyes off the controls. "Ombric was my mentor, he taught me all of the things I needed to know about science and magic. It is how I managed to build the pole."

Jack's eyes widened in amazement, "you built the pole?"

"The yetis helped," he added.

"Then what's big root?" Jack suddenly grown more interested in North's background, he asked him once, but North told him a hollow story about being a warrior chosen by man in the moon to become a guardian. He knew there was more depth to it, he knew there was a deeper meaning in those stories that made Manny choose him. he didn't get why North would hide it for so long, then again, he was hiding the most important detail of how he became a guardian from North.

"Big Root is something that I found," Ombric joined in on the conversation. "A place I found in the hinterlands of Siberia."

"And I know a short cut!" North declared, fishing out his snow globe before tossing it in front of the sleigh. The sky twisted into a swirling portal, then everything seemed to disappear into a panel of light.

Jack soon found himself in the dark gorges of a forest.

"You sure have a lot of new inventions," Ombric remarked. "Perhaps I have missed a lot."

"Yes you did miss a lot," North agreed, whipping the reins of the reindeer harder, causing the sleigh to move faster.

They flew above a violent cascading river that was too swift for a man to cross. They flew high above the mountains, then across a beautiful valley filled with low-lying clouds.

They skidded down the wavy edge and onto a dense wooden grove. North landed the sleigh and hoped right out, "come on Jack,"

"Are we there yet?" the mischief asked eagerly, he's been repeating the question over and over during the sleigh ride like a little child.

"We almost there lad, it's just that Nicholas here always prefers to walk there," explained Ombric.

Tall oak trees lined up on the edge of the pathways. There sprouted branches towered over then like the shade of the roof, blocking away the heat of the sun.

Jack was mesmerized, he's been to every part of the world, explored different kinds of forests, but he's never seen anything as beautiful as he was seeing at this moment.

"What is this place?" he asked North floating above him. "How come I never see it when ever I give a snow day?"

"This is no ordinary forest, it's enchanted!" North crowed.

"Oh," Jack was silent for the rest of the trip, until he saw a large white bear peering out a bush, presumably ready to lung at them.

Jack instantly raised his staff in defense; "HEY LOOK OUT!" his yell echoed the forest.

North whipped around to see what was wrong, "What is it?"

"Bear," Jack pointed the crook of his staff towards the white figure behind the bush.

"Don't worry lad," Ombric waved his staff and the bear just wrangled out of the bushes and stood on his two feet, like Bunnymund.

"This is the bear that protects the forest," Ombric introduced. The white bear dipped his head in greeting.

"Oh," Jack lowered his staff, there seemed to be a lot of surprises in the enchanted forest.

"One day Pitch possessed the bear, and it ate Ombric!" North told, Jack furrowed his brow; it all seems like a child's story. "It ate Ombric, them what's he still doing here?"

The wizard broke into laughter, "I am a wizard, I can never be eaten. That was the day North first came here, he fought Pitch through killing the bear, and he was able to get Pitch out of the bear's body."

"I thought North killed the bear, what makes him, a ghost?" He gestured at the bear, smiling down at him.

"I killed the possessed bear, not this bear," North clarified.

It all sounded like madness to Jack, "um…okay…so Pitch possesses things?"

"Precisely"

"So where were the others? Sandy, Tooth, Bunny…"

"Oh I wasn't a guardian yet," North added, "I was just a sword's man."

"So you knew Pitch before you became a guardian?" Jack mused.

"Yes, he has attacked children since we weren't guardians," North replied.

"Looks like I missed a lot," Jack teased with a smirk on his face and began to laugh, North cackled along side him, but his expression turned serious, "but do not feel outside, you belong with us, even if we haven't known each other for a long time, you are family now." He didn't know how many times he should tell that to Jack, he could go on and on and on, until Jack would feel welcomed and open up to them. The winter child gave a sly nod; he looked hesitant and unsure, even if he said the same thing approximately 34 times this week. That is the punishment for ignoring him for decades.

Again there was awkward silence for the rest of the trip. Jack was always silent after he said the phrase. Maybe he just wasn't ready to open up to them, and all those times the yetis threw him out of the pole did not help with that.

The whole purpose of bringing him to big root was to make him feel welcomed. Not everyone gets to enter.

Jack caught a glimpse of something moving, right behind the trees. Whatever it was, it seemed to be glowing, emitting a blinding flash of light.

Jack squinted, adjusting his eyes to the bright contrast. Once he could make out what it is, the light died down a little, revealing a woman that looked entirely made of jewels. Long laced veils whipped around behind her, dancing to the breeze that only she should feel. She smiled at Jack, "welcome."

"That is the spirit of the forest," North said. "Ombric created her to guard the entrance of the forest and only the purest hearts can enter."

"So you mean I'm…"

"Yes! You are welcome here! A pure heart with the love for children," North continued for him. Jack fixed his gaze on the floor, he never thought of himself like that before.

The tree roots shifted, moving out of the way, vines untangle by themselves revealing a winded but clear path. The sprite's eyes widened, he never seen anything like it before, the only time he's seen a tree move is when it's swaying with the wind. "Woah,"

"There are a lot more, come we are almost there," North said eagerly. Jack found himself anticipated to see what the toy-maker wanted to show him.

The winding path led them further and further like striding around an endless maze, until finally they arrive in front of a giant tree.

A sapling specifically, it was huge, larger than the other trees and possibly the biggest one in the world. It had windows carved on the sides, with small stairs in between to large roots that led to a door. Of course, like all the other trees, the roots flailed and shifted around in greeting. "This is something Ombric found, a long time ago," explained North. He opened the door and led Jack in. the first thing that caught the child's eyes was the robot standing by the doorway.

Ombric noticed the child's stare, "That is something North made."

"Really? You built this?" Jack gasped, "Wow."

"His name is Dijini, it can do whatever you command."

"Can it throw a snowball at me?" Jack teased.

"If there is snow," amused North chuckled. "But when I took it with me on a journey, Pitch possessed it and took control over it. Luckily the robot still answers our orders."

North sure knew how to make his stories exciting, "well seems like I've really missed a lot…."

"Which is why I brought you here," North answered.

'Yeah, I know…" the immortal teen spun around in slow circles, admiring the structure of the inside of the sapling, "are we really in a tree?"

"Yes, that is what I asked the first time I came here…" he trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, his eyes filled with concern.

"I have something, actually I lot of things to tell you," North sounded a lot more serious that before, which made Jack worry about what he was going to tell him.

"Come on, let's go to my favorite spot," the large man nudged him towards the steps

* * *

North brought him high up the tree, probably the highest room of big root. The space was big, but empty, except for a bed sitting right in the center. They sat on the edge of a closed window. North was wordlessly peering out the window while Jack just sat there waiting for what North wanted to tell him.

"Do you know why I came to big root in the first place?" North asked the clueless Jack Frost who just shook his head as an answer.

"Well, let me tell you a story," North shifted from his position to face Jack. "I was Nicholas St. North said to be the most daring swordsman."

"Well it's true," Jack remarked with a smile and North attend his back, "thank you my boy. But achievement isn't a kind to make a mother proud."

"What, who wouldn't be…?" North hushed him, "my mother won't be proud, because I don't have a mother or a father, or a family."

Jack gaped, "you…?" it was exactly how he felt after being invisible for 300 years, he felt like he was going to be alone forever, without a family, without friends, without anything. His mouth open and closed, wanting to say something but couldn't get the words to come out. Tears prickled the corners of his eyes as the familiar feeling ventured through his thoughts.

North continued, "I have never been tucked into bed, I never known the safety of home, the tenderness of a mother's embrace or the happiness of a father's company."

This time Jack let his tears depart his eyes, freezing into crystals midway. He never knew North had experienced something like that. At least he had a family, he just couldn't remember, but North, he was really alone.

"After all those years," North went on. "I became a thief, gathered a group of outlaws to help me, together, we stole half a fortune of Europe. North didn't want for a reaction, he just kept going. "One night, the man in the moon sent me a dream that led me to big root. Originally I was there for the treasure, to steal and just run away. When I arrived at the woods, the spirit of the forest revealed a handful of treasure in front of me and the other bandits that followed me. But I turned away when I heard the scream of children further off. The bear that Pitch possessed, it was attacking the children and I ran as fast as I could, to the children's screams and away from the treasure. My companions, they didn't care about children, they went for the treasure, but once their fingers collided with the gold, they turned to stone. It is how I became a guardian." He didn't dare look at Jack, afraid he might reject him because of his background. To his surprise, the immortal winter spirit gave him an embrace, latching onto his coat.

North hugged him back, wrapping his arms around his tiny frame. Jack was as cold as a corpse, but he just felt warmer in his embrace. "Who are you? Jack Frost" he asked the same question the first time he has encountered the young winter spirit.

Jack knew what he meant; he was ready to grow a little more open to his 'family'

"I used to live in Burgess, with a sister, I don't remember my mother or my father but I saw my sister. One day I took her skating, when the pond was close to thawing. I was stubborn, I couldn't wait for another year, and my sister was begging me to teach her to skate." The teen stopped, looking at the ground in shame. "We manage to get on the ice, but it began cracking underneath us. I tried to keep my sister calm, playing hopscotch on the ice until I landed on the thickest part. My sister was still stuck on the cracking ice, she managed to move towards me a few steps, but the ice was close to giving away, but then I grabbed, this" he held up his staff, "an ordinary stick that was just lying beside me, I used to hook my sister away from the cracking ice, and onto the thick spot, but I flung myself on the other side. The ice cracked beneath me and…that's all I remember…."

"You are a hero, Jack" the jolly man smiled warmly.

Jack cracked a smile too.

Finally they felt a strong connection between them, like how a father would understand his son.

"Come, I have a lot more to show you…."

* * *

**Pointless….**

**What do you guys think? Cause I don't know what I am doing when I was writing this…**

**Kathrine is yet another book character, if you guys don't know. I have no idea what happened to her cause the book series isn't completed yet. But the movie is set 200 years after the book, and since he is s human *pulls out tissue and blows nose* she must be gone ;_;**

**Yeah, I'm being dramatic…**

**Feel free to send in your request, I'm working on each one, AT THE SAME TIME lol kidding, it would be a big mess if I did XD **


	5. Bedtime Stories

**Requested by LilithDemon, I hope you like it! :D**

* * *

Putting Jack to bed isn't an easy task. Sleeping wasn't exactly Jack's favorite time of the day, except when he arrives in the pole after an exhausting snow day, he would crawl into bed on his own, but on the other times, North would always have to chase him.

In his old age (even if he is immortal) North grows drowsy very early especially when he is done making toy models or inspecting the toys made by the yetis for any missed details or damages, and if he goes to bed, its lights out for the entire pole. Excluding for Jack, he gave him the privilege to come and go when he please, to make him feel at home and also feel free and unrestrained. But North finds himself flipping on to his back and staring at the ceiling, waiting for the thumping of bare feet on the wooden boarded hallways, running to his room. Even if he tried to force his eyes shut, he wouldn't be able to drift into an easy sleep without knowing if Jack was back or not.

As Bunny always said, he worries about Jack too much. He is a free spirit and he can go anywhere he wishes without getting hurt. He's been alone for 300 years and he sure knew how to take care of himself. But that does not stop North from worrying.

The dark circles under Jack's eyes were growing bigger, and North was always feeling weary from sleeping so late at night since Jack always came back at 4am or later. Eventually he had to put up a curfew, and to his surprise Jack didn't complain at all, not even a single word of protest.

However, Jack was growing tired of sleeping on a lumpy surface and fluffy pillow all night. He actually missed the feeling of hard wood under his back and his head leaning on the trunk of a tree. He couldn't sleep; instead he tossed and turned around his covers, seemingly bored to death. Soon he found a new sleeping spot that was pretty much perfect for his taste. It was the wooden rafters, high above the ground where he could see the toy factory and watch yetis sneak out of their rooms for a midnight snack and he loved being off the ground for once.

But the idea of Jack sleeping 20 feet above the ground only gave North a panic attack, who knows what might happen if the winter spirit shifted. He might fall and bruise himself or worse even hit his head. The first time Phil informed him about Jack's new sleeping spot nearly made his heart stop beating. He rushed out the door and into the factory where the yetis made their toys and saw Jack suspended high in the air, sound asleep.

"Jack! Get down from there you might hurt yourself!" North commanded, his voice echoing through out the walls enough for Jack to year.

"M' fine" Jack mumbled sleepily, letting his leg and loosely on the edge, it only made North panic even more. Even if he matted the floor with pillows, he still didn't approve Jack sleeping on the rafters where anything, literally anything could happen, and because there weren't enough pillows in the North Pole to make the entire floor a puffy safe place to land on.

Jack Frost has been left alone for years, which was probably the guardian's biggest mistake for ignoring him. The child probably fell into different kinds of bushes, slept on the highest tree tops in the world and yet nothing bad happened to him, he was capable of taking care of himself, he's been doing it for years it has become a natural instinct. North knew that, Bunnymund has told that to him numerous times, he could still hear his accented voice buzzing around in his head. But North wanted Jack to feel taken care of, he wanted him to feel that there are some people who truly care about him, who worries about his safety and who love him like a family. He wanted to get rid of the loneliness contained deep inside his heart, but he knew it was like a scar that would remain there forever. He would love to know what Jack was thinking, if only he had mind reading powers.

Soon he requested Phil to keep Jack away from the rafters and the yeti would always pluck Jack away when he got close. This was the time Jack began to think of it as some kind of game, he would always run away from Phil whenever the creature tried to catch him anon running away from North who was trying to get him in his room. better enjoy the fun and laughter while it's still there, who knows how long it will take for him to break a precious item in the pole and have North banish him, who knows how many more years the guardians will need him around until they begin ignoring him again, just like a used can of paint. Yep those thoughts were still festering in his mind, it gave him an even bigger head ache each time it did come across his mind.

One day North caught him by the scruff of his hoodie and dragged him to his room a little too early. Jack was laughing endlessly from all the running and chasing and so was North. The laughter ceased when North set Jack down on his bed and threw open the windows even wider, "Iz it too hot in here? Iz that why you can't sleep?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Jack got up from his bed and perched himself on the dresser in front, "sleeping is just boring."

"What do you mean boring sleep is important." North lectured, "You might feel very tired if you don't sleep."

"Yeah, but it's just no fun," Jack added petulantly. "Sleeping is only fun when Sandy's here."

"Yes but Sandy can't be here all the time." North stated, "He has very busy schedule."

"Yeah, I know,"

"How bout I tell you a story?" North said sitting on the edge of Jack's bed.

"North I'm not four," Jack uttered sarcastically.

"Yes but I have a good story in store for you." North cocked his head and stroked his beard. The expression only raised Jack's curiosity and made his mind itch of what North was going to tell him. "Okay, fine." he flopped over to the empty space behind North. "I'm listening."

"Bunny is probably going to kill me if he finds out." North scanned the room to check if any elves or yetis were eve's dropping as they always did.

Jack's eyes widened in astonishment, "You're gonna tell me about Bunny's past?" he received a nod from the jolly man. "He used to be a tiny innocent rabbit."

"No way!" Jack cried out in disbelief.

"Yes he was," North continued. "He used to be a little girl's pet. Even if he was chosen as a guardian he didn't get believers immediately and he was stuck being tiny for, let's say 10 months."

Jack clamped his mouth shut, trying his best not to break into laughter and disrupt the great story.

"At that time was the middle ages, which means Pitch has full control of the fear, everyone was scared of him, every child, every adult having nightmares." North's voice slightly quivered thinking about the horror and fright of the middle ages. "Although, man in moon chose us to be guardian, and Pitch was trying to get rid of us in every tactic he can."

"That's low, even for the nightmare king," Jack scoffed.

"Yes," North agreed. "But still he tried, but we were still weak and we were wide open for an attack. Pitch's favorite target was the innocent little bunny."

Jack snorted, "So predictable,"

North looked at the amused little winter spirit and went on. "Pitch once tried to lure Bunny into a nightmare cage by placing a carrot inside. Bunny followed the scent of the carrots like a mindless zombie, he almost got caught, but it's a good thing Sandy pulled him back." The jolly man watched Jack roll around his bed in laughter at the same time growing tired and sleepy. He's seen it all the time, whenever a child refuses to sleep, their parents would tell them a story. He always watched the children listen intently to the little tales, laughing, rolling around or sometimes even jumping up and down on their beds and at the end of every story the child would snuggle in their blankets and fall into deep sleep. Now he finally knew what parenthood feels like.

"Let me tell you something about Bunny that truly became a folk tale." North said as soon as Jack's laughter died down.

"And what is it?" Jack rolled over to face the old Cossack.

"As you know Pitch would do anything to get rid of us, and he was going to start with Bunny." North stated, "one day Pitch set up another trap for Bunny, one that didn't seem like a trap at all."

"What did he do? Get a female rabbit puppet?" Jack jested.

"No, but that would be very funny." Old Santa chuckled, "But it iz not, Pitch set up a fake child made of tar and laid it on the pathways where Bunny crossed all the time. And you know a guardian's weakness is a child. Well the tar child seemed pretty real, it sat on the path with a very sad expression, like she was abandoned by her parents and Bunny, Bunny wanted to cradle and comfort her."

Jack curled into his blankets yawning, still keeping awake to listen to the rest of the story.

"Bunnymund placed a paw on the child, and it got buried in lumpy tar, he reached another paw, trying to pry himself out of the lumpy tar, but he found himself sinking deeper into the tar. Before he knew it, his whole body was in tar, and Pitch emerged from a pile of bushes and grabbed Bunny by the scruff triumphantly saying 'whatever shall I do with you?' and Bunny thrashed around in his grip saying 'roast me, hang me, do whatever you want, just please don't throw me in the briar patch.' And with that Pitch smirked and thought he had the upper hand. Gripping the tar covered Bunny, he swung him round and around and flung him into the briar patch. Bunnymund fell into the bushes with a crash, and Pitch cocked his head, listening for whimpers of pain from Bunny but he heard nothing. Then he heard someone calling his name, he turned to see Bunny sitting on a log, brushing the tar off his fur, 'I was born and bred from a briar patch, born and bred' Bunny said." North turned to Jack for his comment and saw Jack curled up in his blankets with his eyes shut, "Pitch is an idiot….." he said.

North smiled, "good night my son." Then he stood up to proceed to his own bed room.

Jack waited for the door to close, before he cracked an eye open, feeling warm and cozy inside. He was not a can on paint, he was very important to North.

* * *

**Do any of you recognize the tale I used? It's original version is entitled "Briar Rabbit and the Tar Baby' you can read it any where around the internet. Of course I don't own it, sadly, I own nothing in fact.**

**So I hope you enjoyed reading, leave a review **


	6. Vacation

**Requested by FrostFan1, hope you like it :3 and enjoy reading.**

* * *

Bunny gripped the newly furnished wooden arm of the sleigh holding on for dear life. They were on their way to North's favorite Russian forest that was once his camp. The toy-maker was the one who suggested that they all needed to loosen up and go on a trip and that they lacked 'bonding time' only gathering together when something was wrong.

Bunny didn't approve the idea, he was way too busy and he didn't feel like leaving his warren, he refused to tag along, a family that gathered maybe once a year is normal right? No it certainly was not, he was practically dragged out of his warren, now he was cowering in the back seat of the sleigh, unlikely of the brave Pooka he proves to be. Who wouldn't when you are about 800,000 feet above ground, sitting in an unstable vehicle with a reckless little trickster in control of the reins?

Yep, the driver was no other than Jack Frost the trickster with even more reckless ways than North. He used another arm to get a solid hold on the side of the sleight as it sped faster. He glanced over at Tooth and Sandy who raised their arms enjoying the ride and having fun, the part that Bunny didn't get the most. It's not like he didn't know how to have fun, but how exactly can you relax when you might fall off the edge anytime? Tooth didn't have a problem, she had her wings, Sandy didn't have a problem either, he could use his dream sand in case he fell out. Bunny was the one that was truly flightless and preferred his feet on the solid ground instead of the air.

His lunch got caught in his throat as the sleigh suddenly took a sharp turn. North gave a hearty laugh and lightly patted Jack on the head, "Great job my boy!"

"Why do you guys refuse to take the tunnels?" Bunny questioned, screwing his eyes shut. "Your tunnels are no fun," Jack turned to him and smirked.

And the worse part was North refuses to use the snow globe as a short cut because he wanted to see more of what he calls 'Jack's great driving skills' well what part of 'great' is spinning around in circles above the clouds?

"Relax Bunny," Said Tooth. "You have no idea how great this feels!" she leaned over the edge and stretched out an arm feeling the clouds beside the sleigh.

"How can I bloody relax? This thing is going too fast!" Bunny snapped, clawing the wood even harder that his nails were beginning to throb.

"That reminds me!" he heard North say. "Jack, go faster"

"What!? North, we're already going so-CRIKEY!" he cursed as Jack lashed the reins harder, making the reindeer run faster. He could hear Tooth, North and Jack laughing while Sandy was sprinkling dream sand like confetti. Black already dotted Bunny's vision and his stomach threatened to spew out his lunch. The sleigh jerked forward again as Jack summoned the wind to give them a boost. "That eez my boy!" North boomed and Jack felt so happy being called North's boy for 35 times, he has been counting.

Bunny never thought he was ever going to say this but, "North! Can't we just use your bloody snow globe so we can get this over with?" he pleaded.

"Okay fine," North dug in his coat and fished out his snow globe. "Here," he handed it to Jack. "Okay," Jack toyed with it in his hands before literally screaming, "TO RUSSIA" into it, copying North's accent. (**Sorry I don't know any Russian forests XD) **the sleigh entered a colorful vortex and landed in the middle of a beautiful wilderness.

Almost instantly, Bunnymund hopped out of the sleigh, enjoying the feeling of his feet on solid ground. "I am never going back in that thing ever again!"

"Aw, the Easter Bunny is scared of Santa's sleigh, that would be a great story to tell the children." Jack took his staff and tried to leap right out but the handle of his saber got caught on the handle, causing him to topple over, he would have hit his head if North hadn't gotten a hold of his arms and pulled him upright. "Thanks North," he smiled; it felt like North was always there for him. Jack made sure nothing was hooked before he tumbled right out of the sleigh.

The beautiful forest was filled with ever-green grass and leaves. Sunlight escaped the cluster of trees, shinning down in streaks. The air was spicy with the scent of blooming flowers. Birds sang from their perches along with the sound of the gentle swaying waters of the nearby lake, it was so peaceful; no wonder North loved it here.

Jack busied himself in freezing the lake, covering the entire lake with a thick sheet of ice and Tooth and Sandy were watching.

Bunny stood under the shade of a tree, thumping his foot angrily. "Seriously North, what's the point of this anyway?" he asked.

"I told you, we lack bonding time." North said.

Bunny rolled his eyes at how ridiculous it sounded. "Well, is that called bonded time?" he gestured at Jack, scampering on the frozen surface of the lake while pounding his staff on the hard ice.

"Let him have his fun," North waved him off. "It's been a while since we did something like this."

"No, the correct term is we never did something like this before." Bunny stated.

"And this will be the first, North added. "Look at it as a family vacation."

"Well, I still got a lot of work to do," Bunny muttered.

"You're just painting eggs, how much work could that possibly be?" the jolly man teased.

Bunny's ears dropped, "Here it goes again, I'm telling you North you got all year to prepare."

"Yes, but Easter is not Christmas." North wagged a finger in front of him. If Bunnymund was a vicious animal, he would have bit it off by now, but he wasn't. He wasn't in the mood to dispute, but North just went too far.

"Easter is more important than Christmas, you said it yourself."

"And that was before, children like Christmas better."

"They don't"

"They do"

"They don't!"

"They do!"

Jack was too busy freezing the lake to hear North and Bunny's childish arguments. He added a couple more layers to make sure it was safe to stand on. When the ice was thick enough, that not even a sharp ice pick can penetrate it, he pulled the squealing Tooth for a spin. Earlier today, she said she has never stood on ice before, and now Jack was going to change that. Tooth teetered on the ice, using her wings to support her balance, meanwhile Jack pushed Sandy into the rink as well, watching him flap his arms like a chicken in helping him balance, needless to say they were all having so much fun, even Bunny and North who were arguing under a tree. Jack glided backward on the ice while Sandy followed close behind, getting the hang of it keeping it up for hours. Bunny and North's heated argument still went on.

The clouds gathered, blocking away the sunlight. The sky darkened around them, cold mist swirled. The forest fell silent, the birds stopped chirping. Something was wrong.

Jack, Tooth and Sandy didn't seem to notice. But Bunny's ears picked up the sound of something drawing closer to them. "Hey North,"

"Hm? What iz it?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That!"

"I don't hear any-" a cold shadow swept passed his feet, just like at the North Pole, Bunny and North shot each other a worried glance irises widening. North mouthed the word 'Pitch' and Bunny shrugged. It was impossible Pitch was too weak, they weren't expecting him to come back for decades.

But they have carelessly let their guard down. North searched around, trying to look for another explanation, unfortunately finding nothing but black sand seeping out of the soil.

"Jack! Get out of there!" he called, unsheathing his dual swords while Bunny readied his boomerangs.

Jack turned around his expression filled with turmoil. "What's wrong?" Sandy conjured a question mark of sand above his head.

North used to swords to point at the black sand gathering around the clearing.

Tooth gasped, "Pitch?" at that exact moment, Pitch's echoing laughter sounded behind them. Jack smacked his staff in the air, shooting ice at nothing. Pitch's shadow darted from tree to tree, the black sand tailing him formed into smaller dark horses. Obviously Pitch was weaker than before, but that does not mean it would be an easy fight.

"What do you want? "Bunny growled.

Pitch's full form appeared in the shadows of the trees. "Oh is it wrong to pay my long-time enemies a little visit? After all, we're just having fun, isn't that right?"

With that, Bunny threw his boomerangs at the him but the nightmare king quickly dodged it by disappearing into the shadows. North began slashing at the nightmares that came forward. Sandy extended his sand whips turning the horrible black sand into drams, Tooth used her wings to cut through nightmares and Jack froze everything he could find.

What was supposed to be a family vacation turned into a surprise attack. A dozen of questions were pooling in Jack's mind, like how the heck did Pitch find them, when did he plan it and what was his purpose. It wasn't the right time at this moment but Jack thought it was fun, the nightmares were easier to take out that before, it was like playing a game. Who knew what Pitch was thinking, he is way too weak to take them on. The winter spirit decided it was the perfect time to test out the golden saber North gave him only a few days ago. He pulled it out of its sheath and began slashing trough nightmares.

North spotted Jack wielding his sword from the corner of his eye. "THAT EEZ MY BOY!" He yelled across the clearing.

"North this ain't a good time to be proud." Bunny threw his boomerangs at the nightmare that was diving for North.

Once Jack cleared the circle of fearlings that was around him, he flew to the other intending help them, but a fearling just crawled right in front of him and ran deeper into the forest, there was no way he was letting it go that easily. He ran after the stray nightmare horse, straying away from the guardians where all the protection was.

Little did he know it was part of Pitch's traps again. The nightmare horse vanished into nothing and Jack raised his brow in confusion and forged with his staff out-stretched.

He tapped the crook of his wooden staff lightly and frost began to collect around it.

Pitch appeared out of the shadows right behind the little trickster who is the very cause of his fall. He formed an axe out of his black sand and got ready to swing.

As the axe moved towards him, Jack felt the slight movement behind him, before he could turn around the wind tried to pluck him out of the way, but the axe struck him in the leg, flinging him to a tree, knocking the air out of him from the hard blow against his back. His leg throbbed, immense pain spread all over his body he found himself too weary to open his eyes.

"I have more where that came from," he heard Pitch's voice whisper before the sound of slithering nightmare sand filled the air.

Hitched breaths escaped his lips, followed by a stream of tears. The pain didn't seem to go away. He placed a shaky hand on his leg shocked to see it was broken. He cracked an eye open and squeezed his appendage tightly sweat pouring down his forehead.

He bit his lip, getting ready for the pain that was about to come. He gripped the lower bone and forced it back in place, gritting his teeth to avoid screaming.

* * *

The guardians froze in bewilderment staring at each other with questionable gazes. One minute they were swarmed by fealings and the second they blink, it all disappears.

"Must've finally realized that he's no match fer us." Bunny smirked placing his boomerangs back in the leather sheath.

"But why would he attack us in the first place?" Tooth wondered, Sandy gave her a shrug.

"Where's Jack?" North asked his gaze averting around the forest, worry suddenly struck him.

"He was just there a minute ago."

"Yeah, I've seen him."

A nearby twig snapped everyone glanced at the direction of the noise to find Jack staggering to them, using his staff as support. Hot tears escaped his glassy eyes no matter how much he tried to hold them back.

North was the first one to react he caught him when he fell forward, scooping him up and leaning him on a tree. "What happened?" he took a hold of Jack's leg causing sharp cry of pain from the winter spirit, the jolly man's heart wrenched.

"Pitch happened," Jack managed to choke out. "My leg's broken."

"Then we better set the bone," Bunny scooted beside North, Tooth and Sandy hovered above them each with worried faces.

"It's already set," Jack answered with nonchalance, rearranging himself into a better position.

"What?" that was all North could say, "So you mean to say that you broke it?"

"No, Pitch broke it with his axe," Jack corrected.

"So…Pitch broke it….and he set it?" North asked.

"That sounds….wrong…." Bunny's ears twitched in confusion.

"No, Pitch broke it, I set it." Jack shifted his leg a little.

The guardians gave each other a worried glance.

"Jack, You don't set your own leg." Tooth was the first one to speak.

"Well I just did," Jack said flatly. "I'm fine now."

"Jack," North addressed, "Why did you wander off? You could have stayed with us and Pitch wouldn't have gotten to you."

Jack glared at the floor but remained quiet.

"So Pitch's purpose of the attack was to hurt Jack?" Bunny scoffed. "We'll be sure to get back at him the next time we see him." Sandy cracked his knuckles agreeing with the Pooka.

"Jack" North lifted his chin to look him in the eye. "If you need help from us just ask, you are no longer alone anymore."

"I don't need help, I said I'm fine!" Jack spat like venom, raising his voice, causing the other guardians to gape. North's eyes widened in astonishment gawking at the winter spirit, he tried to say something but nothing came out. Just when he thought Jack's trust was bounded, something has to prove him wrong again.

Jack gasped at what he just said, h tried to apologize but instead a dry cough evaded.

North acted fast, "Come on, let's go back." He scooped the winter spirit in his arms and ambled towards the sleigh with the others trailing behind them, trying to forget about what just happened.

Jack stayed quiet for the rest of the trip, feeling all kinds of shame and guilt. He had yelled at North for trying to help him at it was probably the worst thing he had ever done. He had no idea why, but it was just hard for him to realize that he has someone who wants to take care of him. He's used to taking care of himself after all.

North dropped off the other guardians to their designated places and went back to the pole. "Come on Jack" he called before lifting Jack in his arms like he weighed nothing.

He commanded the Phil to make a cast and marched straight to Jack's room, setting him down on his bed.

"I'm sorry," Jack finally said his voice hoarse from the long moment of silence.

North furrowed his thick brows, "Sorry for what?"

"For…for yelling…" his voice came out little.

The old Cossack smiled at him, "You don't have to be sorry, we have to be sorry."

Jack's head snapped up to look at North, "For?"

"For leaving you alone," His chest heaved into a sigh. "I don't know how, but I will be sure to make it up to you."

"Well, you don't really have to…" Jack's eyes met the floor again.

"But we are your family now, you have to remember that you are no longer alone anymore and you can ask help from us anytime." He held his shoulders and gave him a little shake, mindful of his leg. "You have to remember that, okay?"

For a moment Jack just stared at him, making North nervous of rejection, but to his surprise, Jack hugged him and it didn't take time for him to hug the winter spirit back, wrapping his arms around his tiny frame.

"You're grounded by the way…."

"What?"

North chuckled, "I've always wanted to say that."

It brought a smile to Jack's lips, "Feels good doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does….but you are not allowed to leave this room that makes you grounded…."

"Oh come on…."

* * *

**Yes I finished at midnight XD the darkness sure is inspiration….HEY PITCH DID YOUR HEAR THAT!? lol I bet he'll be here soon O.O**

**There is nothing going on with the Pitch appearing all of a sudden, I just added him here to break Jack's leg that's all XD**

**If you have a request, feel free to review or message it.**

**Leave a review and tell me what you think about this! See you in the next chapter.**


	7. Christmas

**A request from our guest, if you're reading, I really hope you like it.**

**And I just noticed, I keep forgetting to put up the summary and disclaimer *sweat drops* I own nothing and I never will *cries* lol**

**Summary: simply, Jack celebrates his first Christmas**

* * *

"Do you think I get in the way of things?"

_Silence_

"I've been a big distraction, I didn't even help with anything and yet I accidentally broke a lot of toys."

_Silence_

"Am I really that useless?"

The reindeer scraped a hove against the cemented floor. "I take that as a yes…" Jack muttered. He's been cooped up in the basement all day, talking to a reindeer that couldn't even understand what he was babbling about. He sighed, it was Christmas day, North was busy making last minute preparations he didn't have enough time to listen to his ramblings, although he just stayed out of the way in fear of destroying anything else. He tried to be of some use to North, maybe help him wrap the presents and load them on the sleigh, but who knows how many fragile items there would be, he might accidentally break them again. Grooming the deer was the best option, if North even grooms the deer.

At least it still counts as a job. "Look Comet or whatever your name is but what is the best way to help North?"

The deer just snorted, shifting in his wooden stall. "I am talking to reindeer, I am officially crazy." The winter spirit mused.

Loud and heavy footsteps plodded down the wooden stairs, followed by the familiar Russian man's voice calling for him. "Jack? Are you here?"

"Yeah I'm right here," Jack leaped over the wooden door.

"There you are!" The jolly man spread his arms, looking more relaxed than dawn. "I've been in every room of the pole looking for you."

"Is there something wrong?" Jack asked in urgency. North just waved a dismissive hand, "No there is no trouble my boy, but what are you doing here?"

"Oh…just talking to um…" he moved closer to the deer he previously had a one sided conversation with. "Comet"

"That's Blitzen," the old Cossack corrected with a smile.

"Yeah, I can't tell," the winter spirit ruffled his own hair, "Pretty confusing."

"It iz," The Russian agreed. "But if there iz anything you would like to talk about I would be happy to listen, da?"

"Yeah, your real busy today and I don't wanna get in the way…" He flexed his jaw, "so why do you want to see me?"

"We celebrate Christmas, tonight with the guardians." He clamped his hand on Jack's shoulder and lightly shook him. "It was supposed to be a surprise, until you were no where to be found I had to come looking for you."

"Geez North," Jack said in a monotone, not exactly what North expected, he didn't sound impressed but on the inside firecrackers were igniting. "Thanks North."

"No need for thanks, you deserve it. And don't worry, you can go around the pole, you don't have to lock yourself in the stable all day." The toymaker steered him upstairs and out of the dark stable. "I guess I'll just stay in my room," Jack squirmed away from North's grasp, "See you later then."

"Merry Christmas Jack!"

"Merry Christmas to you too," the winter spirit darted up the stairs, springing from wall to wall on the way to his room. He pushed the door open and threw himself onto his bed.

Celebrating Christmas seems so alien to him. Back then he was confused and lost he came across a family gathered around in a strange tree decorated with lights greeting Merry Christmas to each other. Those times Jack would stay by their window and watch them open their presents even if he didn't really know what was going on, the smiles on the children's faces warms his heart, he would stand by them, laughing, playing with snow, having snowball fights. He would laugh with them, for once he was truly joyful, until he realized how alone he was. No one could see him, even if he was right there having the time of his life. He didn't have a home, no matter how many places he's visited, he did not belong to a family like all the other children. At the end of Christmas day he would always find himself curled up by his lake crying. It repeated for a few more years until he just stopped trying to believe he had a normal life, instead he sat on a tree by his lake sulking, cursing while releasing his temper through blizzards.

The bitter memories still clung to Jack's mind like a tick that refuses to leave a dog's body. He buried his face in his pillow, refusing to cry on Christmas day. He tried to tell himself that he had the guardians as a family and he was no longer invisible to some kids. However he couldn't find himself fully trusting the guardians no matter how hard he tried. He trusted them the first time, even if he was just a new recruit, he trusted them, but they turned away from him, and it hurt, more that a cut from a blade. Jack didn't want to experience that kind of pain ever again, he feared he was going to suffer the same pain again. It would be less painful if he didn't trust them fully. But North trusted him with everything, it did not seem fair. His mind was whirling; he laid on his back staring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours until North appeared by his door. The Cossack lightly knocked on the polished would to get the winter spirit's attention, "Jack?"

Hearing his name made him jolt upright, "Oh North"

"Come down and have some cookies, the others will be here any time." North spread his arm, "come."

"Is it time already," bleary Jack stood up and glanced at the clock, "Woah time really flies." He grabbed his staff that was placed by the headboard and allowed North to lead him down. "Yes time really does fly," North wrapped his arm around the winter spirit.

The sweet scent of baking cookies greeted them, Jack peered through the wooden bars of the stairway to see bustling yetis rushing around with a tray of toys and plates of cookies stacked up on one another. "Wow North, it seems pretty busy in here, how do you guys celebrate with all the yetis running around?"

"Ah, their just busy with preparations, they'll stop when the gathering starts." North explained, "How do you usually celebrate?"

"I…Don't celebrate," Jack shifted his foot shyly. North almost fell forward when hearing what the winter spirit said; you don't not even with the seasonal spirits."

"They hate me because I'm winter and I give them the chills." His icy blue eyes were glazed with sorrow, "I just sit by my lake."

"They should not hate you; maybe I'll have a talk with them when I'm free." North cracked his knuckles.

"I don't think that's necessary…." Jack grinned. "But thanks North."

"No need for thanks," North drove him down the steps. "Now what are you waiting for? Go enjoy yourself, I just need to deal with some other things, I'll be back soon enough." North took off to the factory again. Jack found it hard to enjoy with his mind filled with the thoughts of the past years. He strode to the fireplace with his staff over his shoulder and sat down on the rough red carpet and stared blankly at the ranging fire.

Bunny was the first one to arrive, greeting Jack by messing up his hair. Then Tooth came second giving him a big hug and last came Sandy who simply waved at him and flashed a serried of images that he couldn't understand at all. Not long after, the celebration began. North returning in the globe room and shared a couple of his usual stories. Jack still remained by the furnace, feeling a little out of place. Celebrating Christmas seemed strange for him that he's grown used to feeling out of place from the numerous times he clung to the window sill of a home, from the outside looking in. He was always an outcast to the world, with no one to reach out to on the times he was feeling hurt. He's seen a lot of things happen, like people dying from the cold, boats sinking, lanes crashing. He always tried to help, he tried to save them but his hand just went right through them like he was made of nothing. The other seasonal spirits were invisible to others as well, what they do was just a part of the weather, but they had each other, and Jack had no one. They called him winter, the season that kills; it makes Jack feel like a horrible spirit.

"Jack?" the familiar female voice pulled him out of his trance. He suddenly realized there were tears trailing down his face. He whisked them away and met the amethyst orbs that stared at him in concern. 'What's wrong Jack?" he felt her feathered arms wrap around him in an embrace.

"I…" he faltered, unsure of what exactly he was thinking of. "I…I don't know…"

"Jack?" He heard a chair being pushed back and heavy footsteps padding closer. He felt the familiar warmth of the Russian man by his side. "What iz wrong Jack? You can tell us if you want to."

The thudding of big feet grew louder, until the Pooka was standing by him, placing his sand paper like paws on his head, "Oi no need to be bummed at a time like this."

"I just thought about the past few years…it's...I was just confused." He pulled away from Tooth's death grip, holding his tears back. He refused to cry at a time like this, pulling his hood over to hide his face, "I just watched a lot of accidents happen and I could help them because I was invisible."

"Accidents happen; sometimes we can do nothing about them." North said trying to cheer him up, "Forget about them."

"I see a lot of families celebrating Christmas, and I was just outside watching." Jack continued like he didn't hear what North said. "But, it just reminded me of it, that's all."

"Oh Jack…" Tooth pulled him back. "You don't have to feel s outside."

"WE are family," North joined in.

"A pretty strange one in fact," Bunny added. It _was _a pretty strange family of magical immortals.

"Yeah…I know," Jack said smiling.

"Then enough of this family talk," North suddenly boomed. "We go and celebrate like one."

Jack found himself grinning like an idiot staring into North's sapphire orbs identical to his own. He found a family after years and years of waiting. He wasn't clinging to a window watching town folk celebrate their Christmas. He was where he truly belonged, with his family, even if they did abandon him for years they are trying so hard to make it up to him.

He pulled himself up and truly began to celebrate Christmas like a family. Soon enough North and Bunnymund had to start another argument about which holiday was better, it lasted for about then minutes before they patter each other in the back and had cookies, which was so strange. North and Bunny were such strange friends. Jack had fun watching them argue, but the party was still way too booooooooring, he mended an orb of ice and blasted it in the air, turning the North Pole into a snow field. Afterwards they started a grand snowball fight. The guardians were all aiming at the spirit of mischief in attempt to peg him with a snowball but failing miserably no matter how big the snowballs North threw, Jack was nimble and light on his feet. They were all having fun, undoubtedly the best Christmas celebration in years now that there was a guardian of fun.

The joy ended when it was finally time for North to head out and deliver his presents. The guardians began to leave something that broke Jack's heart, he was just starting to have fun, it felt like they've only been there for 30 minutes.

"Time is not a very good companion my dear boy," North jested reaching into his coat and pulling out a neatly wrapped box with a sky blue ribbon placed in the middle. "Here, a present from all of us."

Jack hesitated "You guys didn't have to…"

"No, it's Christmas," the Russian insisted. "Oh and there's more in your room, from all of us."

No wonder Phil was dragging a burlap sack into his room earlier today, he just thought he was collecting the trash. "Hey North," he called and the Cossack turned abruptly to face him. "Yes Jack?"

"I um…the best present was being my family," he said, feeling it was a little corny. Hearing this warmed North's heart, "But that was only the beginning, I still have 300 more to give."

"North…" he couldn't help but laugh.

"It'll be enough to decorate your entire room," North patted his head. "a child celebrates Christmas every year, you get a present every year, now go to bed."

"Have a safe trip!" Jack tucked his present in his pouch.

"Merry Christmas my boy and you do not have to talk to the deer whenever you have a problem." North reminded, "I'll make time for you."

"Thanks," Jack said before they both turned to separate roads.

Jack slowly opened the door to his room, "whoa North really wasn't kidding when he said 300 more…." He gawked at the pile of boxes stacked up around his room like high rise buildings.

* * *

**I'm sorry this chapter lacks complete thought, not like I have any thoughts left after doing my homework -_- Math is really driving me nuts although I'll try my best to update regularly.**

**Thanks for your wonderful reviews guys, keep it up and feel free to send in your requests.**


	8. Bonding Time

**Requested by JustPlainOldMe **

**Summary: North teaches Jack how to bake, in return Jack teaches him how to skate, simply like that XD **

**Again , I own nothing, enjoy reading and I wanted to tell you guys, playing bowling with mountain dew bottles is fun :D lol**

* * *

Jack lay on his back high on the rafters above North's vacant work area fiddling with a loose thread on the sleeve of his hoodie while staring blankly at the wooden boards. His mind emptied of thoughts, he had to choose between staying in the pole and doing nothing all day or doing something and getting in trouble. He had chosen staying in the pole and doing nothing in fear of destroying yet another holiday. Easter was coming, Jack was afraid to even swing his staff and cause a blizzard by accidental, not that he was scared of Bunny, he just hated being lectured. Now he is stuck in the pole with nothing to do, he couldn't mess with the yetis or the elves, North had told him they would all be very busy the night before. Now that Christmas was over, they had to start another cycle of preparation like a years work had gone down to the drain. They have to go though new wish lists build new toys and wrap them all over again. Jack wanted to help, but he was afraid he might ruin something again, his own actions were unpredictable, he will never know what might happen. He might just knock over one shelf; everything will all just happen like a domino fall and end up having the North Pole destroyed.

He moaned and shut his eyes as sunlight streamed across his face. He sat up, moving to the other side, away from the high window and laid back down with his limbs hanging limply in the air.

He heard the door open along with the sound of heavy footsteps against the wooden floor. Jack sat up, "Hey North." He greeted stretching his arms above his head with a yawn.

North's eyes shot up to find the winter spirit hanging upside down on the rafters with his legs hooked on the wood. "Get down from their, you might hurt yourself." He ordered, moving to the side of his desk and picking up a small box.

Jack flipped off the ceiling and landed gracefully on the table below, perching himself of the edge. "What's that North?" his curious gaze traveled to the brown box North was holding. "It's the children's wish lists," North replied. "I'm sorry Jack; I don't really have much time to talk."

"Yeah, it's okay" Jack reached to grab his staff that was leaned on the wall. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine." North responded with a nod, "Make sure you don't get yourself hurt." He pointed a finger at him before walking out the door and closing it behind him.

Jack shrugged and went back to whatever he was doing. The door opened again, North poked his head in, "Jack, you didn't need to talk about anything do you?"

Jack shook his head, "I'm just fine."

The toy-maker brushed his beard. "If you want to talk, tell me, I'll make time for you, okay?"

Jack smiled, "I'll tell you if I do."

With one last look at him the old Cossack dragged the door shut, marching out the paneled hallway.

The winter spirit sat on by the window, drawing his legs up his chest and tucking his knees under his chin. He traced his fingers on the glass, decorating the window with his playful frost. He might as well go around the pole and decorate every window to get rid of his boredom, but he'll just get in the way again. He marked the frost with his index finger, drawing the shape of a deer and bringing it to life with the flick of his wrist. The snow deer galloped around in the air happily, making rounds around the room before bursting into snow. Jack seemed amused; he drew more on the windows. The pictures came to life under his hands, each turning into 3 dimensional creatures. The workshop would have turned into a petting zoo, if only they'd stop turning back into snow.

Jack tore his eyes away from the snow figures. That was when he noticed the block of ice sitting on top of North's desk. "Hm…I thought that was a box" he sat on North's rotating chair and busied himself in chipping the sharp edges of the block of ice and sculpting it in the shape of an animal.

Time went by quickly, it was already noon. North used his shoulder to push open the door, carrying a large plate of cookies in his workshop. He set the plate down on the desk where Jack was working on his figure, "Here, you must be hungry by now." He turned to leave but Jack stopped him, "Woah North don't you want to sit down and eat?"

The busy toy maker turned on the heels of his boots, "Sorry Jack I am in big rush today."

"Oh and North," the immortal teen stood up and held his creation. "I made an ice wolf."

"It's beautiful; I'll take a closer look at it later." He rushed out the door, leaving Jack alone again. He sat back down, filling himself with a few cookies and returned to designing his animal. Sometimes he would listen to Jamie's complaints on how his father gets too obsessed with work he didn't provide time to play with his children. Now he knew what it felt like, he couldn't blame North or Jamie's dad either, he needed to work in order to earn a living for his children, he always told Jamie that whenever he gets upset. And North was Santa Clause, he has a lot of work to do.

The sun had sunken and the moon rose. Jack sat back beside the window, twirling his staff. His finished sculpture stood on a pile of North's books as if it was standing on the edge of a cliff, howling to the full moon. Every detail was present, including the fluffy surface of the fur and the claws of its paws. It took all day to make such a detailed statue.

The hellion was bored again. He unsheathed his saber from the scabbard and toyed with it, his mind far off somewhere else. He eyed the wall clock that went tick tock, sounding the quiet room. It was getting late; North hasn't even taken a break from work, _was he like this every year? _He felt a little guilty for causing the Blizzard of 68, that time he was just having fun, he didn't even get why Bunny was so mad, now he knew. It takes a lot of time to prepare for a holiday; Bunny probably didn't rest his eyes until everything was settled. The thought left him feeling guilty as always, now he had something to think about while waiting for North to come back.

He grew anxious as seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned to hours. He suddenly had the urge to go check on him. Setting his staff and sword aside, he marched towards the door.

He was five steps from the hatch when it promptly flew open. North trudged in, dragging his swords behind him. His indigo eyes have lost their shine, like all the wonder has been drained from them.

"North," Jack said in concern, matching his pace. "You look tired, are you okay?"

He placed a hand on his head and patted him, "I'm fine, thank you for your concern." He sat on his chair, delighted to feel the soft surface against his sore back after a tired day of work.

"Do you need some water?" Jack prepared to sprint out the door but North grabbed hold of his arm and stopped him. "No need for that I am fine, just a little exhausted like every year."

"It's like this every year?" Jack asked in shock. "What are you guys doing down there?"

"Well I had to help the yetis carry crates of materials into the Pole," the Cossack drawled. "Some of the elves keep getting in way, we had to pick them up and lock them somewhere," he chuckled at the thought. "But some of yetis get to busy baking fruitcake, they are absent at the factory, and I have to help them stack up the heavy crates."

"Every year?" the hellion still couldn't believe it.

"Every year," North replied. "But it iz nothing serious, I just need a little rest."

"Oh, then we better go to bed, it's getting late."

"You made this?" North picked up the ice wolf that stood tall on the stack of books. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks," Jack's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I was really bored."

"Sorry to make you wait," The jolly man said apologetically. "I'm sure I'll have time for you tomorrow."

"We should head to bed now."

"Yes, come on" North got up, clamping a hand around on Jack's back, leading him to his bedroom, making sure he doesn't start a chase with the yetis on the way.

He tucked him in as always, this time Jack willingly went to bed without causing mischief. He turned out the lights, took one last look at the teen's sleeping form and pulled the door shut. He proceeded to his own bedroom, promising to provide time for his child tomorrow.

/

The nest morning, Jack rose early, recalling North mentioning about the yetis were too busy cooking they forgot to attend their duties. He figured he could talk the yetis into teaching him how to bake, maybe then he'll be of some use to North.

He gingerly peeked out the door, listening for movements out the hall. He pressed his ears on the door opposite of his room to hear soft snoring. North was still asleep, which means Jack has just enough time to cook him breakfast.

He snuck out the hallway and into the kitchen where yetis were already up and about, baking a cake, carrying a batch of cookies above their heads.

Jack cleared his throat, catching the yetis' attention. "So hey…one of you care to show me how you guys make that stuff?"

The grey furred yeti shrugged and spoke a sentence in yetish. They shot each other a glance before they all nodded.

"And I take that as a yes." Jack slung his staff on his shoulder, if only he could understand yetish. Judging from the look on their faces, the winter spirit could tell it was going to be hard. The yetis could understand him, but he couldn't understand them. They spoke through gestures yet he didn't get their gestures either, but nothing too hard to learn, he was a fast learner after all.

The yetis aren't really good teachers, they didn't know how to explain it to Jack. So they used emphasis, grabbing the dough, frosting and all the other ingredients needed.

Jack sat on the counter top as if he was watching a movie. He observed the yetis' actions, how they shape the dough in and how they baked it. Eventually he began doing it himself, grabbing a metallic bowl and a whisk, he did everything he saw the yetis do; only he felt like he was doing it all wrong. He was holding a bowl that looked more like a molded yellow shell; it didn't look anything like what the yetis made. His looked more like dried cement in a bowl. He moved back, planning to dump whatever junk he's made in the trash, but he accidentally stepped on a glaze of frosting, scattering it everywhere.

"Okay, I can fix that," He said crossing over the mess. He tossed the hardened dough down the trash and grabbed a towel wiping away most of the mess.

He bumped against a yeti, carrying a perfect good plate of cookies, causing him to topple over and drop them onto the ground. The elves wasted no time, they ate the cookies off the floor, liking them like it was the only source of food left in the world.

"Okay, now the floor is filled with crumbs." Jack said frustration welled inside him. "What else will happen?"

The yeti he knocked down slowly got up, but slipped on the remnants of the icing. It grabbed the light counter, causing it to flip with him.

"Oh no…."

One of the yetis forgot he had something cooking in the oven, the smell of burning cookies radiated. Without thinking, Jack ran and threw the lid open, trying to get the tray out before their completely toasted. But he didn't know how stoves work, the tray was burning hot, being a winter spirit it had a lot of effect on him. He quickly recoiled his arm and held his blistering hand close to his chest. Tears began to fog his vision; he felt the heat burning the flesh of his palms. One yeti immediately ran out the door to call for North.

"I'm fine," He said in a raspy voice. "I just really need to clean up this mess."

North was going to be furious if he sees the mess in the kitchen, he was supposed to stay out of the way, he was trying to help but trouble followed everywhere he went .The pain was too hard to ignore, his cheeks were already stained with tears. He just squeezed his wrist tighter, hoping it would just go away.

"Jack!" North's booming voice could be heard all the way outside, it made Jack's heart stop. _North was mad, he WAS furious._

The doors busted open and North rushed.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry I'm sorry." He spluttered and tensed when he felt North crouch down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Jack," his voice was gentler; another hand took his own hand. "What were you thinking?"

"I was trying to help…" Jack's voice came out small and scared. North stood, picking Jack off the floor like he weighed nothing. He carried him out the door, and mentally had a nervous breakdown. He had no idea what would happen to Jack. He was a winter spirit, and he got burned, everybody knows fire and ice are two very different elements and it might be a severe burn.

He brought him back to his bed room and set him down on his bed, reaching for the emergency kit he always kept by the nightshade due to the fact that Jack hurts himself almost everyday.

"Are you mad?" Jack shifted uncomfortably, his hand still held on to his wrist tightly.

"Mad about what?"

"About making a mess," Jack answered softly, staring guiltily at the ground.

"I am mad," The Cossack retorted sternly. "But not about the mess, that can easily be cleaned, I am mad about getting yourself hurt again." He paused, walking to the bathroom and filled a basin with water. He sat next to Jack and dipped his burnt palm in the cooling water. The winter spirit hissed in pain, trying to pull back but North held a firm grip, "It will feel better later." He didn't have to worry about hypothermia, He was a winter spirit, he _needed_ to cool down.

After the pain subsided, North applied some ointment and wrapped it with a small bandage, hoping it would heal in a normal rate even if Jack is a winter spirit.

Then he began his lecture, "Jack, what were you thinking? How many times do you plan to get yourself hurt?"

"I was trying to help, I wanted to learn how to bake, so maybe the yetis won't have to do it and they could focus on their work." Jack said gravely.

"If you wanted to learn why didn't you just tell me?"

"You were busy…"

"I will make time, how many times do I have to tell you to remember that?" North placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair.

Even if it was utterly embarrassing and Bunny might tease him about it, he loved it when North did that, it made him feel like…a dog…

There was suddenly a strange moment of silence between them, North still sat next to him, slipping into a trance. Jack felt uncomfortable listening to the tick of the clock. "So North…."

"Tell you what, I cancel all my duties today, and I teach you how to bake." The bearded man pronounced.

"Really?" was all he could say.

"Yes really! "North confirmed. "I still have 364 more days to prepare. And what did I tell you?"

"You'll make time," Jack answered his question mirthfully and slipped out of the comforter he was tucked under.

"'Woah, Jack you need to rest your hand," The older guardian pushed him back gently.

"It's just a burn, I feel fine," the winter sprite moved his wrist a bit.

"Are you sure?

"Yeah," nonchalantly, he climbed out of bed, taking his staff.

"Are you sure?" North asked again, showing the 'Crazily worried parent mode' he has been hiding all this time.

"Yeah, really sure I promise." He raised his right hand and flashed a grin.

"Fine," North gave in to those pleading azure eyes that looked like their carved out of sapphire stones. He stood and paced to the door, "Come on"

Jack ran after him like an enthusiastic child ready to go to the park with his dad. After years of watching, he is finally experiencing what it's like to have a dad.

He followed to the kitchen, where the mess he made earlier was already cleaned by the fast working yetis

"Go back to the factory and finish your duties without me." The Russian commanded in a gruff voice. The yetis instantly scrambled out the door, carping in their own language.

"First thing you need to know," North started his lesson. "Remember to putt mitts on before you get cookies out of over or ask ze yetis to do it for you okay?" he is a winter spirit for goodness sake, he wasn't even allowed to go anywhere near these things, although he agreed to teach him, and he is supposed to keep his promise.

"Yeah, I got it," Jack climbed on the marbled counter top.

"Now," he clasped his hands together, looking for the flour, the dough the bowl and the which, which were scattered around in different places.

"First ze eggs," He cracked an egg into the bowl and scrambled it with the whisk. He took a container filled with flour,, mixing it with the scrambled egg, creating a sticky substance. He sprinkled it with a pinch of sugar and a bit of cinnamon.

After they've been shaped into flat bits, he placed them in the oven until they've been baked to perfection.

"Did you get that?" North shot a glance at the teen, who's already stuffing himself to the freshly baked cookies.

"Yeah I got it," it was easier for Jack to learn, now that he wasn't trying to understand gibberish.

After that day Jack was the one who made breakfast instead of the yetis. He no longer felt like a free loader, North would never think of him as useless, but he felt so odd. He just sat in the North Pole all day without doing anything while the others were busy. Well now he had something to do.

One day Jack just appeared outside of North's workshop staring at him with the same eyes whenever he wanted something from him.

"What is it?" The toy-maker asked, looking up from the ice sculpture he was in the middle of.

"I was thinking, you taught me a lot of things, and I wanted to teach you something too." he responded.

"Something like?"

"Ice skating," The hellion stated with a smirk on his face.

"Ice skating?" he chimed unsure if he really wanted to go, but he feared he might break Jack's heart if he said no so he approved without hesitation.

But now he was having second thoughts, "Jack, I don't think ze ice can hold my weight."

"No it will, I froze this lake right to the bottom," as emphasis, he slammed his staff hard on the ice but it didn't even rapture. "See?"

"Well what would the children say if they see Santa Clause in the middle of the lake?"

"Jamie and the others are the only ones who come here," Jack glanced over his shoulder. "Their usually having lunch at this time of the day, so better hurry."

North smiled, teetering on the ice he was standing on, he trusted Jack, plus his belly told him everything was going to be alright.

Moments after watching North balancing on ice like a baby practicing how to walk, he jumped in, pulling him forward. "Come on North relax."

"I am trying"

"You don't try to relax, it's a natural instinct."

"Oh this is gonna be a long lesson!" Jack skated backwards, with his hands in his pockets. It was extremely hard to teach North how to ice skate, but the teen was determined and he had the patience to do so. They both shared laughter like father and son.

* * *

**Sorry about that, I didn't know how else to end it XD **

**There is no such thing as a Mrs. Clause! North is single and epic and he has Jack Frost as his adoptive son! But that only happens in my head, which happens in the stories, and makes me love this website more XD **

**Now let's go poison the children on next generation that Santa Clause has tattoos and carry swords! WOOOHOOOO! **

**Leave a review, send in your request, do anything you want :D I suggest you go sky diving…**


	9. Take Me Home

**Requested by PrincessRakka**

* * *

The Indian summer finally came to embrace the small town of Burgess with it's warn heat, becoming the most unlikely place for a winter spirit to be dwelling.

Jack Frost lay sprawled out on a sturdy tree branch, moaning in every attempt to move. His arms were limp on his sides; one hand still had a strong grip on his staff. He screwed his eyes shut, trying to block out the bright rays of the sun. Everything was just so hot, even the ground was seething, which did a greater effect of blistering the winter spirit's feet to the point where he started to have second thoughts about shoes. Even the wind, which was his usual welcoming and cool companion felt hot against his skin.

The frost on his hoodie has melted away; his head pounded like his heart was sitting on top of his skull. His throat was dry and his stomach felt like a bottomless pit.

He gathered the strength to roll over his side to get rid of the horrible feeling in his stomach, which was when he noticed his head felt heavier than a dumbbell. His heart thrashed against his ribcage from the sudden movement. More sweat beaded down his forehead (he didn't even know he could sweat)

It was Summer again, normally a winter spirit like him would evacuate to the North or South pole to avoid the heat, but Jack couldn't move, he was sick with a terrible case of fever, which was pretty normal every summer. However he never felt this bad before, normally he could get up and move, his head was never this heavy and he never sweats. Now he couldn't even focus, his vision wavering every time he tried to focus on something. He shouldn't be staying here even if he couldn't move, but the problem was he recently promised his first believer an indoor snow day and there was no way he was going to break that promise, but first he needed to get better, maybe head to the pole and bury himself in a heap of snow, it always works whenever he has a fever.

He sat up, ignoring the protests of his heavy head and aching body. He swung his staff lightly, summoning the warm zephyr encircling him. "Take me home" he said, voice hoarse from his dry throat.

The wind scooped hi m up lightly from the tree and gently brought him high up the sky, breaking through the flurry clouds that were nice and cool. The wind suddenly felt arctic again on their way to the North Pole which was very soothing, Jack started to feel better.

The wind set him down on by the doors of Santoff Claussen. His heavy head caused him to topple over into a pile of snow, _perfect. _He laid there and started burying his body in snow. Strangely he didn't feel himself getting better. The sweat stopped pouring but the snow felt hot on his skin. He began to feel tired, white dotted his vision and everything began to spin before his eyes roll shut on his own.

* * *

North doesn't know where he stands. He's called Jack 'son' and 'my boy' countless of times but he has never heard Jack call him his 'father' it just felt very one sided. He knew Jack respected him, maybe he just didn't see him as a father. Perhaps he still lacks trust, or the winter spirit probably didn't want to replace his previous father from when he was human, maybe he saw his father in his memories? He never mentioned it before, but maybe it is the explanation. He was thinking too much, it's driving him insane.

Phil suddenly busted open the two doors of his workshop, causing a loud bash to echo the room. North turned to him with a sullen look, "I told you yetis to knock, do I have to paint a sign and post it on ze door?" it was a good thing he wasn't working on any flying toy trains. Phil garbled nonsense, flailing his arms up and down in panic.

"What?"

"Mugwashalaga!" The yeti clarified in his own language, telling North that Jack was passed out in the front doors of the North Pole.

"What?" North suddenly yelled in alarm, "What happened?"

Phil shrugged, saying another sentence in yetish explaining he just found Jack in a pile of snow when he opened the door.

The bearded man stood up, grabbing his swords and rushing out the door. He found Jack laying in a heap of snow, he placed a hand on his shoulder shaking him slightly.

Jack's face contorted into a pained expression, moaning as he tried to roll over.

North scooped him up, checking his frail body for any bruises or broken bones. Jack couldn't seem to get himself out of danger, even for just one day. Luckily there weren't any broken bones; North is suddenly confused of what was wrong with him, until he felt his forehead. "Prepare a basin of cold water in Jack's room now." He ordered Phil, who nodded and marched inside.

He gathered Jack into his arms and carried him inside. He heard the winter spirit moan again, shifting slightly in his arms. His eyes flutter open, revealing his dull blue irises glazed with pain, "North?"

"Yes," North whispered, bringing him closer. "You will feel better soon."

It brought a smile to Jack's lips as he snuggled deeper into North's warm fur coat.

North brought him back to his room, laying him down on his bed. "Now where were you zis time Jack?" he asked the winter spirit.

Jack yawned, enjoying the comfort of his pillow. "I was in Burgess as usual by my lake."

"But it's summer you shouldn't be there." Said the old Cossack dipping a cloth in the basin of cold water Phil left on the nightshade.

"I know," Jack responded rubbing his eyes. "But I promised Jamie I would play with him later, besides I couldn't really move, my body felt heavy."

"Well looks like you have to stay here all day," North placed a hand on his forehead. "Your temperature is increasing," he replaced his hand with the cold cloth.

"But I promised," Jack protested, using his elbows to prop himself upright.

North pushed him back down, "then you have to get better soon." He slogged to the dresser and brought out more bundles of blankets.

"I will get better later,, I always do."

"What do you mean always?" North turned to him puzzled.

"Well I get fever during summer every year." Jack said nonchalantly. "I bury myself in snow, then I get better."

North's heart sunk again. Jack was left alone for 300 years he has learned different ways to take care of himself, he doesn't know what the comfort of a parent felt like, constantly being sent away whenever he just wanted attention. No one deserved that kind of life and he blamed himself for leaving a child alone like Jack. He was a guardian of childhood yet he couldn't simply provide happiness to a lonely child.

But now he's supposed to be suffocating Jack with love and affection. "I'm sorry Jack."

Jack looked up from his sheets, "For what?"

"For not being there when you needed someone." North answered, "We all are sorry."

"And how many times do I have to tell you guys, it's okay?" Jack smiled bemusedly, "maybe I should write it down and post it on your doors, just like how you plan to tell the yetis to knock."

North smiled, patting the boy in the head and began wrapping him with blankets.

"Uh North…" The winter spirit squirmed a little. "I think I should cool down, not head up."

"No, you should start sweating before you cool down." The older guardian replied.

"Yeah but I was just sweating a while ago."

"And now you're not, your temperature is increasing and you stopped sweating, so we need to make you sweat." North sat on the chair by his bed. "How long have you stayed under ze sun?"

"I don't know, half a day… I guess"

Half a day? Are you crazy?" North scolded. "You shouldn't be under the summer heat for half a day!"

"Well i don't know it'll get this worse." He drawled eyes closing. "It's never happened before."

"Well now is different from before, now get some sleep."

"Okay…" Jack shifted awkwardly with the pile of blankets and shut his eyes. "Seriously, you guys should forget about what happened in the past."

"But it's never too late to be sorry." North smiled again. "We just wanted to let you know we are here for you." He ruffled the teen's white hair, "Have a nice sleep son, you'll get better in no time."

"Thanks North." The sprite mumbled keeping his eyes shut.

North just leaned back, there it was again, Jack calling him by his name. He didn't know why he was getting upset over a little word, but he just wondered what it was like to be called a father. Maybe Jack just didn't see him as a dad the way he sees him as his son.

Sunset gathered in the hollows, shadows slowly lengthening the night sky which is tinged with purple and speckled red. Jack has been fast asleep ever since, still wrapped up in the bundle of blankets. His temperature was never changing. North sat beside him the whole time, changing the damp cloth on his forehead.

He briefly left the room to ask Phil to whip up some herbal medicine that would help Jack's healing process. Jack was far from okay, technically his temperature is supposed to be dropping by now but it's not, which had North worrying to the point he started to have a nervous breakdown, yelling at any yeti who passes by. He was one step closer to ripping strands of his hair out piece by piece.

Once the door closed the winter spirit's eyes cracked open, but he wasn't feeling any better. His head still pounded, although he was feeling kind of heated. He wrestled himself out of the pile of blankets, having someone take care of him felt nice; it's just that all the attention makes him feel a little uncomfortable. North is supposed to be making toy models at this point but he was wasting his time staying by his side all day long.

The door opened once again revealing North holding a bowl of medicine which such strong aroma even Jack could smell it all the way from his bed. "Jack, what are you doing out of bed?"

"Um…it just feels a little too hot, and I'm uncomfortable with heat." Jack sat back down on his bed, wincing as he tilted his head a little. "But what's that stuff?"

"Medicine to help you feel better," North inched closer, careful not to spill any drops on the floor. Jack grimaced, "looks gross"

He was afraid of that answer "Come on, you have to drink this, it will help you feel better."

Jack back pedaled until he was on the edge of his bed, "No thanks North I….I feel a lot better than before but thanks."

"No you are not, now drink," he pushed the bowl to him causing Jack to jump away.

"No I'm fine see?" the sprite jumped a few times, looking as silly as ever.

North sighed, so this is how all parents feel like when a parent takes care of their sick child. "Jack," he got off the bed drawing closer to the winter spirit. "Don't make this any harder."

"That thing is making it harder…"

"Jack"

"Can't you get rid of that smell?"

"It's herbs, what do you expect?"

Hesitantly, Jack reached for the bowl, just to make it easier for North, the toymaker did clear out a whole day of work just for him. He guzzled it hastily to block out the scent, almost spitting it out in the first sip.

"That wasn't so bad wasn't it?" North chortled, patting the young guardian in the back.

"Why does it taste like fur?"

"Phil made it"

Jack gagged, causing North to laugh again, "Come on Jack, get to bed and rest."

"So I guess I won't be able to visit Jamie tonight huh?"

"Go to bed first maybe you will be able to make it up to him tomorrow." North said picking up the youth and placing him back in his bed tucking him in.

Jack grabbed his coat as North turned assuming he was leaving "Can you stay, I can't really sleep."

"Of course I am staying." He said, sitting on his bed side. "Good night son"

"Good night dad…" Jack mumbled, rolling his eyes shut

Nicholas St. North was too busy having a panic attack to care about anything that was happening around him; did Jack just call him dad? Or was he just hallucinating? No! Jack really called him dad! And wow it felt as good as he expected it to be!

A smile was plastered on his face throughout the night as stroked the child's hair, silently vowing he would never abandon him for the rest of his life.

* * *

**I think I'm still asleep -_- sorry, it's early in the morning before school and I'm not in the mood already *sigh* **

**What do you guys think of me adding more plot to this story that involves Ombric Nightlight and the relics? I just thought of an idea and I was just too tired to make yet another in progress story, so what do you guys think? Please leave a review, I would love to read your comments.**

**And feel free to send requests :D**


	10. The Relic

**Just a little correction, I have messed up my request list and I jumbled up some names there so this is requested by no one.**

* * *

Nicholas St. North sat in front of the ranging fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate in his hands, enjoying the moment of peace and relaxation after one hell of a day of running elves, rushing yetis and firecrackers setting off on their own and for the first time ever Jack wasn't involved in such a chaotic situation. The winter spirit has been asleep in his room the entire day, leaving no trails of frost or ice anywhere near the firecrackers. So the yetis and elves are forced to listen to a two hour lecture from their leader himself.

North took a sip from his mug and leaned back on his Santa-sized chair, his curious gaze trailing on the familiar yet old box stacked up beside the fireplace, he remembered clearly it was a load of Ombric's spell books he kept in the most unlikeliest place to prevent Pitch from finding it, but now that the nightmare king was no longer after them it was safe to move it someplace else _cleaner._

The old Cossack stood from his seat and picked up the old box, dusting away the cobwebs that coated it in a fine layer. Just by holding it brought back a chain of good memories of when his life truly began. Back then he was just a thief who robbed the continent from its gold and richness, but now he was Santa Clause, it very ironic. However he was also the best swordsman who ever breathed air and he still held the title for that.

He fumbled through the box, reading a few spells from the books he hardly had memory of, but then he came across a golden hilt of a sword with the blade wrapped in a thick layer of cloth. It was the relic man in the moon entrusted to him.

He gingerly unwrapped the stack of cloth, revealing an ancient sword. On it's blade was a golden orb that glowed and on it's tip was a crescent moon. He recalled how much time he spent trying to figure out how to use the sword that refused to listen to what he commands.

North chuckled at the funny memory. Then he thought of Jack and the saber he chose to use, only because it was light enough for him to carry. The saber couldn't defend him and it will easily get knocked out of his hands when he was in a combat. The toy maker knew he was thinking too much, Jack would never have to fight a combat, not unless he was around but still, what if he got into real trouble? He was reminded again of how many years Jack spent his life alone perhaps he had gotten in trouble countless of times.

But North began to worry about Jack, he just seemed so distant from them even though they were practically suffocating him with love and affection for him to feel a part of the family even if he's just the latest addition to the guardians, he was not the outcast, but Jack felt the opposite. North feared he might end up like Pitch from all the years of solitude, who knows how many days till the winter spirit bolts out the door in search for a place he thinks he belongs to. He needed to have a talk with him and remind him that this is where he belonged, but who knows how many more lectures are needed for Jack to finally change and grow just a little closer to them.

Man in the moon trusted him to wield the sword and _he_ trusted and loved Jack more than anything in the world, giving him the relic might be the only way to show it.

He set side his mug of hot chocolate and tucked the relic in his coat, striding down the halls that led to the winter spirit's room.

He silently listened if there was any commotion going on in his chamber, pressing his ears against the door. "Jack may I come in?"

What the child does in his room, North will never know, he might be sitting in the corner sulking and crying, in need of comfort and North would still be stuck outside the door in fear of invading his personal space. (technically listening through the door is invading his personal space) but Jack never needed comfort, even if he breaks every bone of his body.

The first few days at the pole, the teen had been nothing but trouble with his tricks and mischief; North was able to put up with it but as days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months Jack began to show what he was really like behind those smiles which was a good thing at some point, this would mean he's making progress, the youth is opening up to him, sort of.

Every time he asked if he was okay, the child would always answer him yes with a big smile, but he could see right through him, deep down inside, something must be stuck in his mind.

He heard the slight sound of a jolt of movement followed by Jack's voice, "Yeah, you can"

North gave a smile and opened the door to see Jack settled on the edge of his bed with his knees pulled close to his chest hugging his staff in between. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously, at this position Jack looked like he was in deep thought yet again, he has been slipping into random trances whether he was at the dinner table or sitting by the fireplace or maybe even before he went to bed.

"Well what are you thinking of?" North pressed on.

"Nothing much," he lied, telling North he's been pondering about his 300 years of existence would only make him worry "Just thinking of a game for Jamie."

The old guardian straightened, his expression turning earnest, he could see right through him. "Jack, you can tell me if you have any problems, in fact you can go to Tooth, you can go to Sandy, you can go to Bunny whenever you are having problems."

"Yeah, telling Bunny isn't such a great idea." The winter child emoted with a lopsided grin. It was the very thing that impressed North, even at the most painful times he is still able to form a smile, not many can do that, most of them will break down crying if they have experienced what Jack has been through. He paced towards the bed and sat next to him, placing his beefy hands on the child's small hand. "I guess Bunny isn't exactly the best person to ask advice from." He said with a chuckle, Jack also joined in. "But my point his," North lifted his head. "Do not keep everything to yourself; feel free to talk to either one of us."

Jack smiled, "I will" _when he was ready._

"So how has that sword been of use to you?" North switched the topic to enlighten the mood a little.

The mischief shrugged, "Um…I sliced through a bunch of things that got in my way."

"Good and do you remember the relic from the stories I told you?"

"The one you used to fight Pitch, is there something wrong with it?" Jack panicked, why else would North suddenly bring up the topic about the sword? He stood.

"No, no nothing is wrong with it Jack." North said, motioning him to sit back down.

"Oh," Jack rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and settled back down. "So what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to give it to you…." The jolly man watched eagerly as Jack was flabbergasted, his eyes were wide as saucers and his mouth hung open. "What?"

"I am giving the relic to you." North repeated reaching in his coat and fishing out the sword.

Jack's mouth opened and closed repeatedly as he tried to find the words to say. "But North…I…" Before he knew it the hilt of the sword was tucked in his palms and he found himself tilting it angle to angle. But he still tried to protest, "But North, this is the relic."

"And that is why I am entrusting it to you." North finished. The teen's refusal was strong, "But I might lose it."

"Do you lose your staff?"

"No…I guess not…"

"Then you won't lose it"

"But…."

"Jack…I trust you, very much." North said, taking him by the chin and tilted his head up. "Okay?"

"Jack nodded, feeling all emotional and awkward inside, it was when North stood up again and said something really unexpected again. 'Meet me at the yard, I'll show you how to use it." He went out the door leaving Jack in a mix feeling of joy and confusion.

First he gently set aside the relic safely onto the bed to avoid breaking it in his rein of joy. Then he did a few back flips, circling around the room like a torpedo. North trusted him with the relic! He clung to every word Bunnymund said during the blizzard of 68, the Easter disaster and the other time when Bunny made him stay in the pole for the whole day because he didn't trust him outside. He thought nobody would ever trust him, ever! Especially the time they thought he was on Pitch's side and now North just handed him the most precious weapon in the universe. "Is this really happening?" he mumbled, why the relic? Why not something else? It's not like there's anything else anyway.

He took the relic it his hands, fascinated by the golden glow emanating from the blade, it was probably the most beautiful thing he's ever seen in his whole life. Everything just seemed like a dream and he was about to make a stupid attempt to pinch himself.

"Jack! Are you ready yet?" North called from outside. That's right! They were going to test out the blade! "I'm coming!" he answered, taking his staff that was leaned on the head board and jumped straight out of his window.

* * *

The yard rang with the song of clashing swords. Jack blocked a savage cut that went for his shoulder, and spun around blocking another instantly. So this was what North is like when he was in training, he was everywhere! Jack couldn't really see him, he was so fast. But the blade seemed to move by itself in his hands, defending all the swift blows.

The clang of steel echoed throughout the yard, the blade continued to fight by itself even if Jack wasn't even trying at all; it twisted sideways deflected a blow. He gawked; it seemed to have a mind of its own. North noticed his awe, "It fights for you Jack." He said without giving the chance for Jack to figure out what it meant, he swung his blade at him without hesitation. The winter spirit gave a squeak and tried to jump away, but he was planted firmly on the ground. The relic in his hands began to move again, as if it was controlling his arm, it collided with North's sword easily block his attack. The old Cossack could do better than that, he was the best sword's man that ever lived, but he had to be careful, he didn't want to wound the boy. He remembered spending an awful lot of time figuring out how to use the sword as well, back then he was still ill-tempered without the patience to think things through. "The sword fights for you Jack" he repeated, hoping the teen would understand what he meant.

The mischief paused, flexing his wrist a little to put the relic in close examination, he looked up at North, his dull eyes filled with tiredness. "What do you mean?"

North stopped and put his blades down, so Jack didn't understand, maybe he could show him. "Here, try to strike a blow at me."

"What?" Jack gave him the look that clearly said 'are you nuts?'

"Come on, trust me, it'll be fine."

Jack bit his lower lip, staring at the bearded man, what if North thought he didn't trust him? He took a deep breath and hesitantly tried to strike a blow with his eyes clenched shut tightly.

The blade wriggled away, just a few inches from North's chest. Jack blinked, "How did…?"

"The blade fights for you, it can only harm the enemy and it knows that I am not your enemy." The Russian explained. "Now do you understand?"

Jack nodded in realization, a smile formed on his lips. The blade was truly magical.

"Try some more?"

The child nodded eagerly.

The sun began to set, the sky turned into a deep velvet purple before darkening completely. Twinkling silver stars trailed the night sky, the moon sat high up in the sky, watching over them with a smile.

North put his blades down; finally deciding it was time for Jack to rest. The winter spirit was panting tiredly although he still begged him to teach him more North sent him to bed, but before that he grabbed him in a big bear hug. "I'm so proud of you my boy! But you need to head to bed."

Jack nodded without a complaint; he stretched his aching fingers that burned from gripping the metal hilt tight.

North brought Jack back to his room, tucking him in bed and wishing him a good night like he always did.

The frost child fell asleep instantly, slipping into his dream state.

_Jack opened his eyes again to see a fireplace in front of him. Everything else was hazy like clouds surrounded him and he was easily able to tell it was a dream. Beside him was his family, his old family, his sister sitting next to him, happily chattering about something, his mother was beside a pot, preparing supper and his father came from the door, finally home after a day of hunting. He couldn't see their faces but seeing there figures were enough to warm his heart. _

Then just like that he woke up. Jack sat upright, looking out the window. It was still dark, but there was no way he could go back to sleep again. He had dreamt of his family! He never did before, he never thought of them after he saw his memories, but now that he did, it made him feel so alone again, his family was gone and he was still here…

North came to check on the child like he did every night. He gently opened the door, careful not to bother Jack in his sleeping state, but instead of finding him fast asleep, the youth was sitting up staring blankly at the air, and he didn't seem to notice his presence. "Jack?" North called, causing the immortal to jump, he turned around, "oh North…it's you"

"What are you doing awake?" North asked, taking a seat by the bed.

Jack shifted from the uncomfortable silence and bit his lip in hesitation. "I dreamt of my family…I miss them…."

North let out a heavy sigh and sat beside the troubled winter spirit. "Jack, I know it is hard for you to believe especially after all the things that happened, but we are your family now, you don't have you feel left out and like I said before, feel free to tell us your problems okay?"

The immortal child stared for a moment then tackled him in a hug. North smiled, rubbing his hands on his back in a soothing motion.

This was a good sign, which would mean he was making progress. This is the moment where trust begins growing stronger.

* * *

**What I said in the last chapter about adding more plot to this story, North giving Jack the relic is a part of it.**

**But looks like I'm one day late from updating, I don't know if you guys have noticed but I update every Friday.**

**Now I have to go finish 'Frosted Darkness' now, I might put this one on hold for a little while, is that okay? I don't think it is, I'll try my best to continue it.**


	11. Meant To Be

**A continuation of chapter 3**

* * *

It's only been a few week since Jack started living in the Pole and he was already causing enough trouble. North would often wake up to hear a yeti slip off the stair way, cursing in their language and the sound of Jack's joyous laughter echoing the narrow hallways. He would see elves frosted onto the roof, they made great Christmas decorations-if they were Christmas decorations that is… North made a mental note to ask the yetis to make plastic elves and hang them on the ceiling when Christmas comes, or maybe he could just ask Jack to freeze them onto the roof, it'll be less work.

The residence of the North Pole had to cope with the hellions tricks, but they all find it hard, especially the yetis, most specifically speaking, Phil. Everyday he would find the yeti grumbling curses as he trudged around cleaning whatever mess Jack has made.

North didn't have the heart to limit his pranking, 'cause that's what makes him the guardian of fun after all, if he took away the pranks who would he be? Besides, North didn't mind Jack pranking at all, no matter how many complaints he received from the yetis, seeing Jack do his tricks always makes his day; it was enough to make him smile 24/7

The guardians didn't mind either, even if the frost child turned their meeting place into a snow fort and engage them into a snowball fight, they didn't say a word and just went with the flow, except Bunnymund who kept saying how 'bloody cold' it was.

Most of their monthly meetings have transformed into a snowball battle.

However as weeks passed, Jack was getting a little out of hand with his pranking, to the point where the yetis grew tired and began to slack, skipping their duties, and the elves were frightened to death every time they see the winter child pass by.

And that's when North made the biggest mistake of his life…

He asked the boy to stop pranking the yetis and elves so they can get back to work…

And prank him instead…

Every single day he would find his warm mug of hot cocoa the yetis made for him every morning, frozen solid.

Sometimes his room was turned into a skating rink. The other times he would find his boots iced on the ground. He thought it would be fun if he had Jack play tricks on him at first but now it was getting a little too irritating, but he didn't get mad at the winter spirit, but instead he played along. He's learned a lot of things about Jack, it broke his heart when he found out that the boy didn't like to be yelled at. _How many times has Bunny yelled at him? _He shook it away, Jack probably forgot about that, or at least he hopes he forgot about that. Sometimes, he would forget what's truly under those mischievous smiles.

One day North found himself running after the agile winter spirit, laughing heartily. He couldn't remember why but it involves Jack frosting his beard when he was taking a nap.

He didn't know why he began chasing him but the boy just darted out the door on his own, it felt right to chase him, sort of.

He was never mad at all; in fact he felt like it was fun, although if he was a lot younger and less…bulky he would be able to catch Jack in a matter of seconds.

But since the winter spirit was agile and he had the wind on his side, he suddenly had an idea. He leaned on the railing, breathing heavily, clutching his chest.

Jack turned back, suddenly aware nobody was chasing him. Then he found North, stopped on the stairs, seemingly exhausted. "North!" he darted over to him. "You okay? You need water?"

And that was when North looked at him with tired eyes, then he snapped. "Just kidding!" He grabbed the winter spirit by the waist, easily able to sling him over his shoulder.

"Hey, that's unfair North!" Jack whined, squirming around in his firm hold.

"There are no rules" North snickers, carrying the winter sprite back to his room. "And just so you know, I never get tired"

Jack pouted, "That's still unfair."

Weeks after North decided to pull a prank on Jack as a taste of his own medicine. It was quite simply, one night he snuck in his room while the boy was sleeping and hid his staff somewhere he would not bother looking, but then he decided to teach Jack how to sword fight, so he wouldn't have to rely on his staff every time.

So he did, and the winter spirit was doing surprisingly amazing.

But that was what bothered the other guardians.

It was just another relaxing day to himself for North when Bunny and Tooth suddenly barge in his office without a word of visit.

"Listen, we need to talk mate," Bunny spoke first, filling the room with dead silence.

"And what is it we are going to talk about?" North asked, raising his brows clearly surprised from the sudden visit. "Is it Pitch?"

"No" Tooth was the one to reply, she flew forward. "It's kinda about Jack" she said nervously, fiddling with her fingers.

"And what about Jack? Is he in trouble? Is he hurt?" North rose from his seat and set aside his ice sculpting, but Bunny stopped him, "no mate he's fine, it's about the sharp pointy knife you let him carry around."

"You mean the sword?" North snorted and waved a dismissive hand. "I taught Jack how to handle the sword already; he is quite good with fighting with it too."

"North, he might poke himself in the eye, he's too young to carry something like that." Tooth flittered around the small space. "I mean, he could-"

"Tooth, Jack may be a child but he's not too young for anything, he said that himself and I am sure that Jack is not dumb enough to poke himself in eye."

The queen of the Tooth fairy armies protested again. "You see how many times he fell out of the sky? He might hurt himself."

"I gave him a scabbard…"

"Mate," Bunny cut in. "Jack doesn't know how to use that weapon properly, heck he doesn't even know how to use that bloody staff properly!"

"Ah Bunny relax my friend." North walked over to clamp a hand on the Pooka's back. "That sword isn't even sharp enough to go through someone."

"Go through someone!? Crickey ya want him ta go through someone?" Bunny mentally face palmed. _Cossacks never change._

North gave a hearty laugh. "Jack may need the sword one day, relax my friends, I taught him well."

The guardians were still hesitant, but they knew North was a good teacher and besides, if Jack would be hurt North was the first one who would get a panic attack.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the South American forests Jack was examining his sword. Lying on the stable branch of a tree, tilting his weapon side to side, the sun reflected it's golden surface, radiating the blade with some sort of glow.

Jack couldn't stop admiring his beauty no matter how many times he tried to tear his eyes away from it. He jumped off his tree, gracefully landing on the forest ground. The thin twigs lying on the ground snapped under his weight.

The forest was unusually hot for his liking, a little too hot, he might as well get out of there before he ends up getting another fever.

Just when he turned around on his heals to leave, a stream of hot air swept passed him.

He whipped around to see the familiar figure of a spirit circle around him.

_It was the summer spirit._ _What was he doing in the forest when it's spring? _

"Jack," The flaming hot seasonal spirit hissed. Clearly they both had a lot of history together, bad history. The summer spirit hated Jack and Jack hated him too. When it was her season, she'll never hesitate to destroy any other spirit who lingers in her forest obviously she tried to get Jack a few times too.

"What are you doing here?" The fire being hissed

"I have all the right to be here, it's in the middle of spring." Jack said flatly and crossed his arms.

The seasonal spirits didn't like Jack, they all thought he destroyed all year round of preparations to make the forests look it's best just by one flick of his staff.

It made him feel like he didn't belong anywhere.

But if there was one person who hated him more than Bunny does, it was the summer spirit.

He was winter

And she was summer

Now he's a dead man…

He raised his hands, "Hey, I'm sorry I was just about to leave, there's no need to stir up a fight."

And without warning the summer spirit attacked him with her sand whips.

Jack merely had enough time to dodge her attack, he tumbled out of the way, the end of the whip managed to make contact with his shoulder.

"Oh you just love to mess with me just because I'm powerless." He muttered, dodging another attack.

"I told you for the last time, stop messing with the seasons Frost." She spat, drawing closer and prepared another attack.

"I wasn't even going to frost anything, I know it's spring, and I know my boundaries. I just came here for a visit, is that so bad?" Jack tried to reason out with the ranging spirit but she just wouldn't listen.

"Why were you chosen as a guardian?" She questioned, "your winter, the season that kills, your heartless…"

"I don't mean to kill anyone." Jack managed to say before a sharp cry of pin escaped him as the fiery spirit sprinkled him with flames.

He managed to drag himself to his feet, shooting a blast of ice at her, he began to run.

She's easily able to melt the frost away. She raised her arm and the forest was engulfed by flame, blocking Jack's escape route.

As the heat rose, the wind grew tranquil; it wasn't enough for the winter spirit to summon.

_Why was she being so unreasonable or was she purposely trying to hurt him and torment him?_

"You don't deserve to be a guardian." He heard the other spirit say somewhere behind the thick smoke.

Jack's breathing suddenly grew hitched, the smoke began choking him. He was powerless against fire, he was trapped…

Then he suddenly remembered his sword. Quickly he unsheathed it from the hilt and stood in his defensive stance.

As the smoke cleaned, he spotted the familiar figure of the summer spirit. Without second thought he slashed at the figure, receiving a cry of pain.

He twirled his staff, gathering a hefty force of wind that carried him away to his 'home'

* * *

Hours after Bunny and Tooth left, North began working on his ice prototypes again. With a touch of magic he was able to make his toy train fly. Too bad hours and hours of work didn't pay off. A yeti busted open the door all of a sudden, shattering the brilliant piece of ice into a million pieces.

North creased his forehead and opened his mouth to scold the yeti, but his eyes narrowed when he heard Jack was hurt. "Where is he? How bad is it?" he heard the two heavy doors of the main halls open.

He hurriedly rushed out to find Jack limping across the halls. "Jack" he said, partly relieved that Jack was able to stand considering he looked worse than the time they battled Pitch.

He was just about to ask what happened when Jack suddenly fell forward, North able to catch him easily, scooping the winter spirit in his arms. Blisters and burns littered his frail body.

"M' fine" Jack mumbled, looking up at him with pained eyes that broke his heart. The boy even managed to suppress a grin.

If Jack wasn't hurt, he would have interrogated him with questions, right now his own mind was pooling with questions of his own. What happened?

He carried Jack to his room and set him down on his bed. "Jack what happened?"

"Summer spirit attacked, no big deal," Jack said blearily. "I trespassed in her forest again."

North examined his wounds, automatically he could tell Jack was lying, the way his eyes shift and how his lips twitch. "The truth Jack, I can tell your upset."

"That is the truth, summer attacked, it happens all the time and I'm really powerless against her, but I used the sword to defend myself." The sprite explained in fast pace.

North took a moment to be proud, but there was something still missing in his story. He grab Jack's chin and tilted his head to look at him. He could normally tell how Jack his feeling just by looking at his expressive eyes, right now he's upset. "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing…"

"The truth Jack"

Jack stared at the ground and shifted uncomfortable in his bed. "She told me I was never meant to be a guardian…because winter kills…." His voice cracked.

North sighed, he wrapped an arm around his narrow shoulders. He was aware the other elementals didn't like him that much, Jack told him, but saying something like that was too far. "Jack, you are meant to be a guardian, and we love you, we are your family. Don't listen to what they say."

"I'm not…but…."

"But nothing" North finished checking all his burns, he was relieved that they weren't third degree burns, but he could help but notice Jack was matted with a fine layer of dirt and mud. "Jack you need to take a bath your covered in mud."

"What? But I don't like baths…."

"Don't be silly, your all dirty and your covered with burns, it's the best way to clean them and avoid infection.'

"But I don't like baths…."

Minutes later Jack regained enough energy to dart out his room. The arctic chill stung his blisters until they began to burn, but he wasn't just going to give up and surrender to North. He wasn't gonna admit his fear of water either….it's really embarrassing.

Jack found himself in the same position as before, helplessly slung over North's shoulder again.

North set the temperature of the water just enough for Jack to get comfortable but not cold enough for his temperature to freeze the water.

That was when Jack realized how relaxing baths really are, he never knew, if he did have to clean himself he was always under a waterfall.

After he was dried up and patched up he suddenly found himself feeling weary and it was only 3 in the afternoon.

North tucked him in without trouble and wished him a good sleep, when he was at the door way he told Jack. "I would go and have a chat with that summer spirit one day, or maybe Tooth would, she is not the type of person to mess with." He chuckled and cracked his knuckles. "You are meant to be a guardian Jack and we love you…." He said again and shut the door.

Then he was left feeling tired as well, now he knew how hard single parenting hood was.

* * *

**Sorry I haven't updated for weeks, this story is sort of in a hiatus until I find my list of your requests that seemed to have travelled to the washer.**

**I can't write without that list of requests cause I just jumbled up someone else request, sorry again ****WRATH77**

**Believe it or not I can't stay away from this story for too long, it makes me spazzy when I don't write a story about North and Jack for too long.**


	12. I Hate You

**So this is a chapter for Father's Day, although it's really really late XD Sorry I haven't updated in a while, the time I tried to write this chapter I had a short case of writer's block and after that I got a little too distracted on my other stories *shifts eyes* the truth is, the ideas just won't leave me alone and I just had to write them down! Ahem…I'll start working on the request next chapter :D**

* * *

It was one of those times when Bunnymund suddenly drops by the North Pole, claming he just came by to check if everything was alright. After the battle with Pitch, their visits have been frequent to avoid any ambush from the nightmares. Pitch had been defeated, sealed away in darkness, it would take more than a century for him to be able to arise but that doesn't mean they could let their guard down. Albeit North already knew the true reasons behind the Pooka's random visits. He either came to ask a favor from him or he was just bored. Since it was the middle of June and he had no eggs to paint until a fresh new batch sprouts from the Spring tulips, he was bored and he just wouldn't admit it.

"What's wrong with him?" The massive rabbit asked, pointing at the winter spirit, awkwardly sprawled out on the couch beside the fireplace.

The truth is, underneath all the tough and crude stature, Bunny deeply cares about Jack, well of course he would never admit _**that **_either.

North stroked his beard hesitantly, unsure how explain it to Bunny. "Let's just say I gave him a little too much eggnog…."

"What!?" Bunny's pushed his ears back in frustration. "Crikey mate what were ya thinking?"

"He kept asking for more and I just couldn't say no." North retorted thoughtfully.

Bunnymund sighed, this has always been the problem with North, he was stubborn, he doesn't take 'no' for an answer yet he couldn't say 'no' to anyone he cares about. "Look mate, ya gotta learn how ta say no ta 'im even if he keeps askin' for it, even when he stares at ya with those big eyes just say no, he might end up getttin' 'imself killed if ya don't say no, I mean, he could always ask ya if he could do something dangerous and here ya are granting his requests."

"Aw…you do…care" Jack drawled, he seemed passed out on the couch but the truth is he's listening to every word they say.

The Pooka gritted his teeth and mumbled something incoherently under his breath.

Jack moaned and muttered something only Bunny's acute hearing would be able to pick up, then he rolled over, nearly dropping on the floor.

Bunny leaned over to whisper "Ey, what language is he speaking?"

"Mixed French and Italian, he's been doing it for the passed hour."

Bunny gave North a weird look.

"The boy knows more than you think," North moved over to the couch and gathered Jack in his arms. "I better get him to bed." He effortlessly lifted Jack off the couch and disappeared into the hallways.

He came back minutes later to check what his old friend wants.

Bunny stood at the center of the lobby, his arms crossed, his foot thumping the wooden boards impatiently, once he saw North, he opened his mouth to continue his lecture, but North interrupted. "I can say no when it's too dangerous for boy alright?"

"Oh so ya too much eggnog isn't dangerous at all?"

North didn't know how to answer to that, "I don't know, you just can't say no when you are looking into big sad eyes."

Bunny snorted, "I can look straight inta his eyes and say no."

"It's not my fault you don't have heart…."

The Pooka was about to argue, but he realized he didn't come here to pick a fight with North. "Look North, this isn't a joke, if ya can't say no ya might end up hurting him."

"Why are rabbits always so nervous?" The toy maker remarked and walked away.

As the days pass, North tried to count how many times Jack has gotten himself hurt. It was almost uncountable, and it was just the first few months of living in the pole, imagine how many more years are coming ahead of him, he might end up getting himself killed if he perused the dangerous stunts he was doing. Yes he is the guardian of fun, yes his tricks makes him who he is but he could always minimize it right? It's not like he was ripping away Jack's center just by limiting his tricks.

As much as he hated to say it but Bunny is right, _oh why must he always be right? _He really needed to say to Jack. Since he couldn't do it when he was looking at the sad blue eyes, he simply wouldn't make eye contact with him.

One day Jack entered his work area asking for more eggnog. North continued on what he was doing without lifting his head. "No."

Jack was taken aback, he never heard North say it before, but he didn't show his shock, instead, he protested. "But North, I just found out how good it is, I want some more…"

"Like I said before, iz a no, too much eggnog unhealthy" North repeated, without looking up.

"I hate you…." He muttered and left the room.

This time it was North who was shocked. His heart nearly stopped beating when he heard those words. The room temperature did not drop, which was odd cause whenever Jack is upset it gets arctic cold inside, but still Jack had said 'I hate you' to him, and he really wasn't comfortable with it.

He went to Jack's room to apologize, he even prepared a heck long speech, hoping the winter spirit would forgive him, but when he entered his bedroom, Jack didn't seem upset at all, he even greeted him casually like nothing happened.

It was when North learned that Jack didn't really mean it; he was a still a child, being a child he doesn't really mean anything like that. He's heard children say it all the time, whenever their parents wouldn't let them stay up to see 'Santa Clause'

It was easier to say no to Jack, now that he knew the immortal teen wouldn't hate him for it. Although sometimes he had to suffer Jack's tantrums, the hellion would either form small blizzards, or cover the last few steps of the stairs with ice for the yetis to slip off, not high enough to cause any serious injury.

There came a day when the factory was completely behind schedule, and they had a lot of catching up to do. He temporarily banned Jack from causing blizzards, freezing stairs or making any form of snow for the day.

Knowing snow is Jack's only source of entertainment; he expected him to say 'I hate you' and turn away, stomping to his room.

Now North learned he could cheer Jack up just by giving him a plate of cookies so every time Jack said 'I hate you' North gave him a plate of cookies just before bedtime.

And Jack, considering he gets cookies every night, just played along with it.

Meetings were held more often after Pitch's defeat, and Jack happened to form a blizzard in the middle of one, causing yetis that were serving their snacks to bump into each other. So North grounded him, and Jack trudged to his room, saying "I hate you" audibly.

The other guardians fell silent (well except Sandy XD)

"Oh North, I'm sure he doesn't really mean that…" Tooth assured, flying over to pat his shoulder, she didn't expect North to turn around with a smile. "Don't worry, I know he does not mean it, all I have to do iz give him cookie and he'll be fine."

* * *

Jack came back from a visit to Burgess on a peaceful Sunday night. Normally Jamie would be out with his family on a Sunday morning, he was a little surprised to see the child still in his room, getting dressed for this event called 'Father's Day'

Jack learns a lot of things from Jamie, but Father's Day he already knew, he just never really paid much attention to it, considering he didn't have a father. The passed few days he's been having vague memories about a man that used to tuck him in every night, tell him stories and play tag with him, usually they come in a form of blurry dreams. He guessed the man was probably his father, he tries to call back those memories but instead he was reminded of how North tucks him in and tells him stories every night.

He opened the door to his room, staring at the different wonders of the North Pole with awe. Up to now he still couldn't bring himself to believe that he was actually _**living **_in the North Pole and the fact that it was his _**home.**_ After a hundred attempts to break in and just have a brief _**look. **_It was all thanks to North.

Jack's gratitude to North was beyond great, somehow he wanted to repay him. Of course North doesn't want anything in return, but Jack just wanted to thank him, for giving him food and shelter, for coping with his random blizzard attacks and for simply being his family.

And Father's Day was just perfect…Although the whole 'I hate you' thing wasn't really helping at all.

He decided to make a simple cake to show his gratitude, with the help of the yetis. It was small, compared to the love and care North was providing him, but size doesn't matter right? It's the heart that counts.

North came in the kitchen, a surprised look on his face when he saw the yetis gathered around in a circle, Jack standing in the middle holding a piece of cake. "Happy Father's Day" he said.

Now North really doesn't know how to reply to that. "Jack…I…What iz all this for? You didn't have to waste your time…"

"I'm not doing anything, besides, I just wanted to thank you for everything da-aaa…." He elongated the last word, almost letting the word slip.

Yes, Jack had been sick and delirious the first time he called him dad, and now, as if by instinct he was calling him dad, but he was still a bit shy to say it out loud. Maybe Jack was thinking about his _**true **_father before, maybe it wasn't even directed to _**him.**_

Jack noticed North's mood practically dull when he almost let the word slip, maybe North did enjoy being called a dad, he smiled. "Thanks dad….Oh, and are you familiar with the phrase _The more you hate the more you love?_" it was his was of saying I love you.

North ruffled his hair, instructing him to put the cake down first before grabbing him into a bear hug.


	13. To Be Pure

**EEP! It's been a month already? Seriously? Wow time really does fly….I have a very decent explanation for the late updates, it involves being lazy, a bad case of writer's block and distracting stuff aka all the shiny things :I**

**Anyway this one is for WRATH77, sorry if it's a little alike with the previous chapters, I totally mixed up your requests Q_Q but now that won't be a problem anymore, I found my list :D lol**

**Here's a Summary to give you guys an idea: **

**To be pure is to be perfect, untouched by the dark thoughts that scarred the Earth's grounds. Jack questions his alignment again, but North wasn't much of a hero before, now here he is, a warrior with a heart of gold. **

Jack tends to fall asleep anywhere, especially after long hours of delivering snow days all around the world, because of releasing too much power , at the end of everyday he would always find himself drained from energy, leaving him feeling tired and worn out. It happens every year, Jack didn't know why but he just kept doing it, his snow and frost made the children happy, he doesn't mind if he's always exhausted after every snow day. He ignores the fact that the children don't believe in him, he ignores how they go right through him every time, after all what he does is just a part of the weather.

A lot of things had changed this year; most of the children of Burgess could see him now. They praised, him, cheered whenever the first snowflake falls, and Jack would never forget their priceless face expressions whenever they spot him around. It was all thanks to Jamie, and the guardians, now he had a home to go to every night. The sweet scent of peppermint always gave him the kind of loving warmth that reminded him of all those times he tried to break in the North Pole just to feel the same kind of warmth.

He would always enter silently through the window, careful not to disturb anyone at work, especially North, who tends to fuss about all the time. It was almost Christmas; he didn't want to interrupt them.

Sometimes he grew too tired to even go to his room that was far down the long hallways, his head was always aching whenever he used too much power in one day, he was dizzy and his whole world was spinning. Sometimes he would curl up outside the window sill and fall asleep or he would pass out on the couch by the fireplace. Most likely he would fly directly up the rafters that reminded him so much of the tree by his lake and drift into a deep sleep.

It was during those times when North would enter the globe room only to get a full blown panic attack upon seeing the winter spirit sleeping so high above ground again. Jack was so close to the edge, he might fall off and break a bone. North didn't have the heart to wake him, he seemed exhausted, the dark bags under his eyes shown clearly on his ivory tone. So North ordered Phil to climb a ladder to get Jack down, before, as if by natural instinct, Jack springs awake upon hearing the yeti grumble complaints. North understood that kind of feeling, he himself felt like Jack too back in his Cossack days. He couldn't help but notice how much he and Jack were alike, they were both left alone in the world without knowing their purpose, taking care of themselves all their lives, both developing a feeling of mistrust to other people, it was natural to develop this kind of instinct but North was able to change, and so can Jack. As his trust begins to build, Jack didn't wake whenever a yeti comes to get him down. He was in the safe fortress of Santoff Claussen after all.

The guardians were impressed with how fast Jack is able to build his trust, even after everything that's happened. He was ignored for more than decades. They accused him with lies, scolded him and sent him away yet his trust returns all the time. They even held a meeting regarding this situation, and they expected it to take years for Jack to trust them, especially what happened last Easter, but here he was now, trusting them with his life even, remaining loyal to their side.

North knew that the other spirits weren't exactly happy with Jack's new status as guardian. They didn't get why someone like Jack was chosen to be a guardian, sometimes Jack himself couldn't find the right answers either. They called him winter, the season that is relentless, cold and unforgiving, they ignored him too out of hatred, but what they don't know is Jack is nothing like his element, he is gentle, kind and he has a heart, it's what makes the other spirits so unworthy. North wanted to show him that he was nothing like the seasonal spirits, so when Jack started to act strange again, he didn't hesitate to help as he always did like a father tending to the needs of his son.

Jack was always acting strange, always ready with a surprise up his sleeve, but this strange wasn't his normal _strange. _He was quiet, like he was always trapped in a daze; there were times when his eyes were clouded and distant. He grew a little more behaved during meetings and avoided the other guardians. North grew worried at Jack's strange antics, something was eating him up inside, and he didn't have the trust to tell them about it.

It lasted for weeks, up until Ombric invited them to Big Root for a celebration of an anniversary. Jack suddenly excused himself and flew off just when they were having a good time recalling old memories—or at least _their _old memories of the golden age. On the bright side, North had an idea on why Jack was upset, he was feeling outside again. he couldn't blame him, they're the ones who practically abandoned him.

Although that wasn't enough to keep him awake at night, there was something else troubling him.

He found Jack sitting awake one night, staring at the moon that was shining down on him kindly, a form of a gentle smile; he was clutching the small Russian doll he made for him that represented his center. North saw him hold it several occasions before, when he was having a hard time with his memories, he would use it to remind himself who he was. The winter teen didn't even notice North enter his room, he gave an exasperated sigh and leant on the window sill, tucking his head in his arms.

"Jack" North addressed softly but the frost child didn't hear him. He came forward and lightly patted him on the shoulder, causing him to jump, his blue eyes wide with surprise. "Oh, North…" he calmed upon seeing the old Cossack standing by his bed. He scooted aside to make room for North.

North settled on the edge of the mattress, "tell me what iz wrong."

"Some stuff" Jack replied, his glassy eyes focused somewhere else. He shifted and leant on the headboard, drawing his legs up to his chest and hugged his knees.

There was a few minutes of awkward silence as they both sat under the loud ticking of the clock. North cleared his throat "Would you like to talk about it?" it wasn't what he would say normally, he normally waited for the winter spirit to tell him and he always did eventually, it only takes a matter of time , but in this case, he wasn't getting any sleep at all, it would be better for him to heed some advice.

"It's just that….I was thinking…." He began but trailed off, opening and closing his mouth, trying to collect his thoughts.

"Yes, go on" North urged patiently.

Jack swallowed hard and continued "Would I have ended up like Pitch if I never became a guardian?"

A horrified expression crept across North's face. Jack grimaced; afraid to know how North might react. "What?"

Jack felt himself shrink in his sheets "I…He…"

North grasped his shoulders, "What made you think that?"

"I don't know….I was just wondering why Pitch wanted me to join him"

"What?" North was twice as alarmed.

_Oh….he hasn't told him that yet_ "I didn't want to" he said quickly.

"When did this happen?" North demanded in a slightly angrier tone. It frightened Jack a little, even if he's already used to his booming voice and large stature.

"Jack" North said in a calmer way as he noticed he was starting to scare the boy.

Jack was still reluctant, he didn't want to bring up the topic again, North would probably give him another hour long lecture about how sorry they are. Jack didn't blame them, it was his fault for screwing up in the first place yet the guardians refused to hear him out and insisted it was THEIR fault.

"Jack" North called again, he figured there was no way he was getting out of this conversation. "It was Easter, after the nightmares attacked the tunnels. I went to Antarctica to collect my thoughts but Pitch was behind me, so we fought and then he suddenly wanted me to join him and I was wondering…._why?" _he tried to explain as quickly as he could to avoid further questions, but it was too late, for the current topic caught all of North's attention. "And what happened?"

Jack bit his lip and continued "he…broke my staff…."

"What else?"

"Nothing" Jack swallowed a lump in his throat.

"No, you ribs were bruised when you came back, what did he do?"

"I was thrown…"

"Where"

"Uh…a cliff but I'm fine…"

North growled and muttered something incoherently with range, his gaze softened as he turned to Jack. "What gave you this idea?"

The teen turned away and raised his hood "Back when I still didn't have any believers, I was always with the children, I would watch them play, but sometimes I was angry at them, I didn't get why they don't believe in me, I don't get why they didn't want to believe in me, after all the things I've done for them. Sometimes I scared them; I threw their stuff around like there was some kind of ghost in the room." those desperate situations, he would kick things around and fling them around the room, he banged against the wooden cabinets and frost would spread across the surfaces and the children, they were scared, they would scream, run out the door calling for their parents. "I don't know…I don't think I _should _be a guardian, I've done a lot of horrible things, I kill people in my blizzards!"

"Jack, do you know why Manny chose you as a guardian?" North asked.

Jack simply shrugged "I don't know, because I saved my sister?"

"Yes, that and he knows that you love children. Look how many years have passed by? Have you ever hurt a child, have you ever scared one for your own entertainment?"

"But I'm not _pure_"

"Jack my boy _pure _has no definition, we guardians are never pure, and we did some horrible things in the past. As I've told you, I used to be a thief, I never did good before, they even wrote songs about me, no not those Santa Jingles they sing these days." He chuckled. "What I'm saying is, no matter what you are, or what you do, nothing in the world has the capabilities to change a human heart. Even if it takes another 300 years for you to be a guardian, you will still be Jack. I'm sorry my son, we have ignored you for so many years."

Jack smiled, his eyes brimming with joy. This was the only time he realized what an honor it is to be called 'son' my North, the guardian, the warrior with a heart of gold, protector of children, it boosted his confidence and he finally isn't afraid to call North his father, he knew that he was truly a part of the family. "Thanks, you're the best _dad_"

**Incase you guys are wondering, the events here happens BFEROE the previous chapter.**

**I'm really really really really really ssory for the extremely late update, I don't know how to manage time properly XD I don't even know what day is it today.**

**Anyway thanks for reading, leave a review, if you have any requests, send them in, and I promise I won't mess up again DX **


End file.
